Dudley's Daughter
by thepotterheadtwihard
Summary: 19 years after the battle. Harry and Dudley are close now But , when his daughter receives a mysterious letter on her birthday, what will happen? How will the family cope? And what will his parents think? ( Please review if you like it :( only take a few seconds pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease
1. Worries

**Worries. **

It was June the 17th , middle of the Afternoon. Dudley Dursley was sitting on the frumpy old arm chair in his living room ,that had once belonged to his father, reading the Sunday Times. His wife , Elizabeth ( or Liz) Figg- Dursley - the Granddaughter of Dudley's old neighbour Mrs Arabella Figg , was picking their children , 7 year olds Sebastian and Lucas , and 10 year old -soon to be 11- Lexi, up from their after school club . Dudley had a good hour on his hands before his wife would arrive home so he decided to give his cousin a call. He went to pick the phone up and dialled the number. He didn't know if Harry would answer , Dudley knew that he had a very prestigious job at the Ministry of Magic ,but he continued anyway. After the third ring , however , his wife , Ginny , picked up the phone.

" Hello?" She said

" Oh hi there Ginny , it's Dudley Dursley here , how are things ?"

" Oh hi Dudley ! How great to hear from you. Things are good at the moment actually yes , how is everything with you?"

" Great thanks , I was just phoning to invite you around to our house for lunch for Lexi's birthday , I know how much it would mean to her for you and Harry , and of course James , Lily and Al , to be there." The idea had just come to him , but it had seemed perfect and a great excuse to catch up.

" That sounds wonderful , when will it be?" she asked

" This Saturday at noon , it's a surprise so don't let it slip that you're coming"

" Perfect ! Although Harry will need to get in touch with Slughorn to see if arrangements can be made to have the children home for the weekend"

" Slughorn?"

" Oh of course you don't , Professor Slughorn , the potions teacher, has just been appointed Headmaster of Hogwarts , isn't it wonderful ! That's the second Slytherin headmaster !"

" Sorry Ginny , but you're going all magical on me , I didn't understand a word you just said" he joked, it was funny how easy it was for him to talk about magic now , considering just saying that word was counted as a curse when he was growing up.

" Ahha , oh sorry Dudley, listen Harry just walked through the door , would you like to speak with him?"

" I'd love to , thanks Ginny , see you on Saturday"

" All right Dudley , see you soon , here's Harry"

" Hey there big-D" He greeted

" How goes it Harry?"

" Great great , what can I do for you ?"

" Nothing much , cant I call without there being something wrong! " he laughed.

" Well , I was just checking" he laughed back. It was a good half an hour before Dudley put the Phone down, he always enjoyed speaking with his cousin and was glad that he had made contact with him, Dudley had always been grateful to Harry that night when he saved his life. He was happy that he could finally make amends, in many ways Harry was now like the brother he never had.

It was Lexi's birthday in four days the Potter's would be coming over for a party. He thought it best to clean the house a bit , and start to cook the dinner before the family got home. He thought his wife deserved a little relaxing time , what with the death of her grandmother. Dudley was incredibly upset when Arabella Figg died - he had known her all his life , and without her , he never would've met his beautiful wife , and had his children, he would always be grateful for that.

At six o'clock in marched his three of his favourite people in the world. His two twin sons , with scruffy black hair ,hazelnut brown eyes and only a few freckles to tell them apart , and one beautiful girl with green eyes and wavy reddish brown hair flowing all the way down to her hips, his daughter. Lexi looked much older than she was , sometimes mistaken for 14 because of her height.-5'5 - Not only that but she acted like a 14 year old would act as well, moody , sarcastic and treated her parents with quite a lot of disrespect , but despite that , he still loved her very much. His wife came in carrying three bags full of food. She was just as beautiful as her daughter. She wore square glasses that seemed to be too big for her and had her chestnut coloured hair up in a tight bun on the back of her head. She had no wrinkles , but carried a frown with her from being so stressed at her job as the headmistress of the local Secondary School , a million miles away from where they lived. But , underneath the stress and the tiredness , you could see how breathtakingly beautiful she was. She had a twinkle in her eye , gorgeous thick hair , and a figure that any female model would sell their soul for. Dudley knew he was a very lucky man to have such an incredible wife.

" Hi dear" She walked over to him and gave him a quick peck on the lips, both boys shouted ewwww! but Lexi thought it was cute.

" Hey dad" , Lexi called from the top of her Iphone,

" Don't I get a kiss from my daughter?" he asked , feeling a little offended.

" No !" she said , and with that , she ran upstairs saying something about "need to tweet" but he was sure he miss-heard her.

" Seb , Lucas , do I get a hug?" he asked his sons.

" YEAH !" they both said to him , they ran over and clambered all over him. Then they ran off , into the garden , to go and play one-on-one football. Dudley collapsed onto the sofa , Liz came over and they snuggled up together.

" So , how was their swimming today" he asked.

" Well , Seb came 1st in his race and Lucas came 4th, and Lexi won her tournament so she was really pleased with that. Although her instructor told me something strange had happened when they were practising diving"

" Oh , which was?"

" Well , she stayed in the air for an abnormal amount of time , he said it was around 6 seconds before she made her way towards the pool"

Dudley got a shiver down the back of his spine- this was not the first time she had been prone to do weird things. It also didn't help his worries that he had been told the story of how his Aunt Lily had discovered her magical talents , and the fact that his wife's Grandmother was a squib , meaning someone on her side of the family would've also been trained in the magical arts. And that his cousin was a wizard. But , he put his worries to one side and just replied with

" It was probably just an adrenaline rush


	2. Surprises

It was Saturday morning ,Dudley Dursley's little girl was turning 11. He had feared this day since she was 7 , that was the first time she had done anything unusual- turned on the light when the light switch was the other side of the room. He didn't know how he would react if his daughter were to become a witch. After all , he was raised to think it was the dirtiest , most disgusting thing somebody could be, but he was sure he would get to grips with it eventually.

It was 9 in the morning. There was a rule at the Dursley household that on people's birthday , they cannot be woken up before 10 o'clock , that gave Dudley an hour to prepare. Half of Lexi's presents were out in the car. And , sure enough as he stepped outside , he heard a hooting that didn't belong to any animal that was awake during the day. His stomach did a funny turn when he realised what this meant, he had a _witch_ in the family , isn't it wonderful? As he walked back into the house carrying Lexi's new laptop , make-up set and Sims 15 game , he had a quick look to try and find the letter. But , it was no-where to be seen. Maybe he was wrong , maybe he had completely miss-heard the sound outside , although he doubted that very much. At that minute Lexi came running down stairs singing "Happy Birthday to me , happy birthday to me " Dudley gave her a big hug and they all had a wonderful birthday breakfast together. After their pancakes , Lexi went upstairs to have shower. And that's when he saw it , a thick , heavy envelope that looked like no letter you would find in this time period lying silently waiting on the 'welcome' mat. On the front , in Emerald green ink, it said

_Miss L. Dursley _

_The End bedroom on the second floor ___

42 Old Compton St

_Little Whinging _

_Surrey___

He turned it over an on the back it had a beautiful purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms with the letter 'H' being encircled by a lion , a snake , an eagle and a badger. He knew what this meant , and deep inside of him he realised that he always knew that he would get a witch as daughter. He couldn't help but feel a little proud that he had produced a child with magic talents, but at the same time , he thought this was his worst nightmare , how could he have a witch in the family? He knew that he shouldn't open the letter. It wasn't addressed to him. But, before he called Lexi he went to find his wife. She was sitting in the living room playing with the twins. Dudley walked over to her. She knew that magic was real , she knew what her grandmother was, and she knew about the Potter's, but she was never too fond about them, and really didn't enjoy all of the many stories Harry and Ginny had shared , because of this , she had no idea what Hogwarts was. Dudley took a deep breath in.

" Sweetheart , we need to talk"

" Okay?"

" Right , I know you don't like listening to things about the wizarding world , but I'm afraid you're going to have to" she nodded and signalled for him to continue " There is a school , called Hogwarts , that educates young witches and wizards before they go out into the real world. Im not 100% sure about the details because ,well I didn't want to know the details"

" Right ? I assume you have a reason for telling me this ? " she asked , looking completely bemused

" Im getting to the point. Well , obviously the Potter's are a wizarding family and your grandmother was a scrib or skib or something like that . Now , I have magical blood in me , not much , but it's some, as my aunt was a witch. And so do you , again not a lot but your grandmother's family would probably have been wizards and witches . And , because we have magical relatives , it makes it more likely that our children will inherit magical blood."

" What are you saying .. " she looked worried.

" Okay . I'm just going to come out and say it. Lexi is a witch" he paused and waited.

" What!? How?! How do you know this ! Oh my gosh. Dudley what the HELL are we going to do , she's going to freak out" She shouted

" They send a letter on the child's 11th birthday , I always knew there was a possibility but I never really believed ... anyway that's not the point , the point is , we need her to come and read the letter , we need her to know what she is "

Dudley had never told any of his children that magic existed, and whenever the Potter's came round he made it very clear that they weren't to mention the fact that they were magic. This wasn't because he was ashamed , it was simply because he didn't want his children getting jealous and having them falling out.

" Right. Yes . Of course , this isn't about me , this about our daughter. Perspective." she called Lexi down from her room.

" What?" she yelled from the top landing

" Come and talk to me please" there was a rather loud stomping coming down the stairs,

" You have a letter , it's addressed very specifically to you , and I think that now would be a wonderful time to open it" she said sweetly.

" It's probably just a birthday card , because , you know IT'S MY BIRTHDAY ! , I'll open it later"

" now , now dear we think you should open it now , it doesn't look like a birthday card"

" all right then , I'll open it now " she took the letter out of her mum's hand and tore it open. Her face quickly went from a pale .. to a deep green.

" Sweetheart , why don't you read it out loud"

"_Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Headmaster: Horace Slughorn_

_Dear Miss Dursley, _

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of necessary books and equipment. _

_Term begins on 1st of September. We await your owl by no later than 31st of July. _

_Yours Sincerely _

_Filius Flitwick _

_Deputy Headmaster" _

She looked inside the envelope again to find the rest of letter. Her face -again- went from a green to a sickly blue.

" What does it say dear ?"

She read out the rest of the letter which included some very strange books , a wand , robes , cauldrons and all sorts of other things. Slowly but surely the colour started to return to Lexi's face, and then it hit her.

" OH MY GOD , I'M GOING TO BE A WITCH! THIS IS THE BEST BIRTHDAY EVER !" Dudley had never been more relieved in his entire life , he thought she was going to flip out , but he didn't think he had ever seen her happier. She continued running around the living room for about 10 minutes , until finally she sat down on her father's lap.

" Now darling we realise this is going to be very exciting for you , but we - you dad and I - aren't too sure on what we need to next" But she was interrupted by a ring at the door. " Oh god is it 12:00 already?" He looked down at his watch and it was. But to be honest Dudley couldn't wait to talk Harry and Ginny about all this and have some things cleared up. He went to answer the door.

" Harry ! Ginny ! Al , James , Lily! How are you all ? Please , please come in" he greeted them all. It was frightening how much James looked like his father add a scar and some glasses and you wouldn't know the difference from when Harry was his age. However , his youngest son , Albus , did wear glasses , not circular like his dad , but rectangular. It was also rather scary how similar Ginny and Lilly looked , not just the hair colour , but the shape of their face and features. Liz went to fetch the boys from the garden and they were both pleased to see the faces of their family.

" Lexi , we have a surprise for you sweetie , why don't you come and see who's out here" She ran into the hall saying ' oh I do love surprises' Her mouth dropped and the loudest scream came from her mouth , she ran over to Lily , and they embraced in such a big hug Dudley was sure they were going to squeeze one and other to death. She went to give her aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry a hug and they both gave her a kiss on the cheek. She went to give the boys a hug and after that , James , Al , Lily , Lexi , Lucas and Seb disappeared into the garden. Dudley , Harry , Ginny and Elizabeth made their way into the living room. They had a rather long catch up , discussing all sorts of different things. But finally Dudley decided that he couldn't keep the news in any longer. He went to collect the kids from the garden so they could talk about it together. After all it was Lily's first year at Hogwarts that year as well.

" Potter's and Dursley's , you have 5 seconds to get into the living or else no cake ! " he teased to which Lexi replied " Ohh there's going to be cake?" After everyone was in the living room , Lily and Lexi sharing a arm chair cuddling up to each other , Seb sitting on James' lap and Lucas sitting on Al's, Dudley turned to Harry and Gin.

" We have some .. news" He had made Lexi swear not to say anything to the others so nobody had any idea what he was talking about. He went on

" Lexi received a letter today.." He said , and already he could see Harry put the pieces together.

" IM GONNA BE A WITCH!" She yelled before Dudley had a chance.

" WOOOOO! SO AM I! " Lily yelled back.

" OH MY GOD YOU ARE KIDDING! WE'RE GOING TO GO TO HOGWARTS TOGETHER! YOU GUYS ARE WIZARDS AND YOU'RE A WITCH! THIS IS THE SINGLE MOST GREATEST THING TO EVER HAPPEN SINCE JUSTIN BIEBER DIED"

He looked at Harry and they both laughed , it was great to see how well the girls got on, they were practically the same age , Lilly was only 5 weeks older than Lexi , and they were like sisters , and it made Dudley really happy that Lexi wouldn't be alone at Hogwarts.


	3. A Conversation with the Potters

" So , Uncle Harry , what's it like at Hogwarts?" was obviously the first question out of Lexi's mouth.

" It's wonderful. It's a big seven story castle built in the Middle ages. It's got hundreds of tall towers and turrets. It's got dungeons built beneath the big black Lake. It's been called the best magical school there is. It's got ghosts , moving staircases , hidden passageways, magic mirrors , magic rooms, talking portraits, floating candles, enchanted ceilings"

" Whoa , that sounds incredible ! "

" It is and when you arrive " but he was cut off by his son.

"Oh Yeah ! And when you arrive you get sorted into either Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin or Ravenclaw and that's your house and-and the people in your house are the people you do your lessons with and who you sleep with and who you eat with." Albus interrupted his father.

" Those are funny names? At my school we just call them the blue , red , yellow and green team. Why those names"

" I don't know , do I ?,ask dad" replied Al. She looked curiously at Harry.

" Well , those are the names of the Hogwarts founders. Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor. Each one made a different house to place students in. It would be decided what house you are put in depending on the qualities you value. Gryffindor values include , bravery , daring, nerve, and chivalry. Hufflepuff value hard work, loyalty , patience and fair play. Ravenclaw value knowledge , intelligence and wit. Finally , Slytherin value ambition , cunning and resourcefulness as their qualities" All of the children were staring up at Harry as he told them about the houses. Dudley had some more pressing issues than 'What was it like at Hogwarts' but he thought he could save it and let the kids have their fun.

" How do they choose what house we will be in" Lexi asked.

" Oh that's awesome that is , there's this hat right and it's called The Sorting Hat and on your very first day at Hogwarts you put it on your head and it like reads your mind and it places you in the house you're most suited to" James answered. Lexi looked completely and utterly mind-boggled.

" You mean there's a hat... that's alive? .Amazing. Guys , what houses are you in?"

" We're both in Gryffindor , thank god for that! But I thought I might be sorted into Slytherin, the horror ! But you can ask the Sorting Hat to not place you in a certain house and he does take your opinion into consideration , me and my dad both did that" Al said.

" But why ? What's wrong with being in Slytherin?" She pondered. But before either of the boys could answer Harry just said

" Nothing , there is nothing wrong with be in Slytherin , Albus just wanted to be with his brother , didn't you Al"

" Yep" he said , rather reluctantly.

" Right glad that's settled then, any more questions Lexi?" Ginny asked her.

" Just a few!"

" Well , tell you what , why don't you and Lily and the boys go out in the garden and they can explain everything to you?" She advised

" All right then!" and off they went, marching into the garden. Dudley was glad that Ginny had got rid of them , he needed some time for him and his wife to ask some more important questions. As much as he wanted Lexi to have fun at Hogwarts , he just couldn't help picturing her being beaten up by a troll or Ogre or some other beast , but if he was being true to himself he realised that beasts like that probably didn't exist , even in the magical world.

" We realise you may have some important questions , so don't worry , you can ask us anything you want no matter how stupid it may sound" Harry told them. He was such a caring man , he didn't think he had ever met anyone as nice as Harry. A wave of guilt spread over him, if it weren't for the way Dudley treated him , he probably would've known how caring Harry was a lot sooner.

" Will she be safe" Dudley stared at his wife , she looked like she was almost in tears, he hadn't realised how worried she was. He put an arm around her , and looked at Harry, begging for him to reassure her.

" Perfectly. There has been no trouble at Hogwarts since May 2nd 1998. All is well , there are no dangerous creatures, no dangerous people , and no dangerous objects. I assure you , she will be 100% safe at Hogwarts. But if it makes you feel better , I have a friend who works there as the Herbology Professor , and I'm quite good terms with the Headmaster so I can make sure she is kept an eye on" Liz let a out a long , deep sigh.

" Thank Harry , truly and Ginny , we really appreciate the help" They both just smiled at her. Dudley was next to ask the question.

" The list of things on her letter , how exactly are we supposed to get them?" This time it was Ginny who answered.

"There's a street in London call Diagon Alley, it's a Wizard's street and it's where you get spell books , wands , robes and all the stuff she will need for Hogwarts. And before you ask , it can't be seen by muggles - non-magical people- because of a protective spell" This was a lot of information for Dudley to take in. But he needed more.

" Earlier , when Lexi asked what was wrong with Slytherin, Al seemed very reluctant to say that there is nothing wrong with it... why is this?"

" Slytherin house has a ...reputation. It is a house that thought blood status was an important aspect in a wizard or witches capability to do magic. Most Slytherins are Pure- Blood. As well as this though , years and years ago there was a man - using the word lightly- called Voldemort , that wanted all muggles and wizards or witches of any blood status less than Pure -blood , gone. He wanted the magical world to come out of hiding , he wanted muggles and muggle-borns, magical people with non-magical parents- alike to become inferior to wizards and witches" Dudley could hear the loathing in Harry's voice as he spoke of Voldemort "I don't need to go into the details but he had followers , called death eaters. People say that there isn't a witch or wizard who went bad , by that I mean becoming a death eater or a follower of Voldemort , that wasn't in Slytherin, with the odd exception, and because of that , people tend to steer clear of Slytherin house." When he finished Dudley looked at him, worried.

" My daughter is a muggle-born, what if these death eaters come after her"

" Oh know you don't need to worry about that. Voldemort died , 18 years ago , 19 in September , most death eaters are locked up now, and my job is to find the ones that aren't , so don't worry , she'll be perfectly fine."

" How did he die?" Elizabeth asked , Dudley had almost forgotten she was there.

" Is that really important?" Harry said awkwardly to the pair of them

" It's very important Liz , Harry never tells the story, but you deserve to know . So I'll do it for him. He went on a 'quest' around the country looking for the keys to destroying an immortal man, with the help of Ron and Hermione of course. It was a dangerous task , constantly staring capture , torture and even death in the face. Not only that but the rest of his family , our family, were back at their house , he had no idea whether they were safe. But he did it , the 17 year old boy ,he found all 7, and on May 2nd 1998 he destroyed him. Harry is the one who killed him" The amount of pride in her voice was evident. It was obvious how much she loved him.

" Wow" it was all Dudley could say.

" Yeah" Harry said quickly. Once Ginny had told the story though , they were shortly interrupted by six , muddy kids that had come back into the living room , complaining about the weather , asking for food and of course , Lexi wanted to open her presents. They spent the rest of the day focusing on Lexi. She had a blast seeing her sort-of cousins and loved every minute of it. Harry and Ginny had bought her a necklace that had a small crystal dove as the charm. Dudley couldn't imagine how much that would've cost them but then he remembered that they didn't exactly need 'muggle money' as they called it. But Dudley couldn't help thinking about all the things Harry and Ginny had told him about blood-status in their world , and couldn't help wondering whether Hogwarts was the wonderful place that they had made it out to be.

After lunch the Potter and the Dursley kids spent hours playing with Lexi's new things, they all had so much fun. Dudley always enjoyed having them over, he was glad that Harry had been able to forgive him for the way he treated him when they were growing up, Dudley just wished he could've made amends with Harry sooner than 5 years after they went into hiding , he guessed that it took so long because of his pride , he never liked apologizing , it wasn't his strongest point.

At about 10 o'clock the Potter's went home. Lily and Lexi hugged for around 10 minutes and both nearly cried when Lily went home , they vowed to each other that they would meet up soon ( although Dudley believed that their exact words were ' omg we seriously need to meet up soon, I'm gonna miss you so much , love you babe') everybody hugged and kissed and Ginny and Harry said goodbye to all the kids and with a loud _crack_ , that was it , all the Potter's had gone.


	4. Owl Post

**Hey everyone :) Hope you're enjoying my little fanfic , would really appreciate it if you reviewed ! Just so I know that people are actually enjoying it! THANK YOU :) **

Harry arrived back at the Burrow with two of his children holding on tightly to his hand. Soon after another loud crack echoed around him and he saw his wife appear clutching James. They had come to the Burrow, as opposed to returning to their House in Godrics Hollow, because tomorrow was the Weasley- Potter family re-union. It was a lovely day were everybody , all the children and adults , would have a big get together , play games, have some food and just have a friendly gathering. Harry couldn't wait for tomorrow , it been a least 2 months since he had seen all the Weasly's in the same room , and considering he grew up with them , that was a long time. Of course he saw Ron and Hermione nearly every day at work , Percy too, although Harry didn't much care for Percy as he did for the other Weasley's. They made their way into the house , and to their surprise , they saw Hermione , Ron , Rose and Hugo all sitting on the couch ,laughing silently; Harry assumed they were trying not to wake any one up. Ron looked at the door and saw his sister , brother-in-law his niece and nephews standing there looking utterly bemused.

" Blimey mate ! What the bloody hell are you doing here?" Ron asked.

" Nice to see you too"

" Oh right yeah sorry , it's good to see you Harry" They went in for a one armed hug and both gave a shaky laugh. He went over and gave each of the rest of the Potter's hugs as well.

" Harry ! Hi !How are you doing , it's really been too long since we have seen each other properly , I mean , I know we see each other at work but It doesn't really count does it?" Harry let Hermione ramble on , it was funny how little she had changed since their days at Hogwarts. Harry gave her a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek , he was already so happy to be back at the Burrow. Rose and Lily had gone over to say hello , and all the boys were about to run off to play a game of Exploding Snap.

" Right , Rose ,Hugo , Lily , James and Albus"

" Why am I last ?" Ron carried on as if he hadn't heard Al , but Harry could see a small smirk appear on his face never-the-less.

" It is now 10:23, me and Hermione and Ginny and Harry are going to bed at 10:30. So we want you to go to bed .. now."

" Nope" Lily said

" Not happening" Hugo protested

" Definitely no" Al told them

" Of course not, silly" Rose stated

" Yes , because that's definitely going to happen (!) "James informed them.

Ron went a bright shade of red. He tried to tell them again but they weren't going to listen.

" Right , anyone who is not in bed before 10:30 , is NOT coming to Diagon Alley with us this summer , and the first person will get THREE chocolate frogs" And as soon as the words were out of Harry's mouth , all 5 kids had ran as quickly as they could barely saying good night too their parents.

" Is there anything that you aren't better at than me?" Ron asked Harry , looking a little crestfallen.

" Oh stop feeling so sorry for yourself Ronald. You're a wonderful father and the kids are just going through a rebellious stage at the moment." Hermione comforted him.

" Harry managed to do it" He said , rather childishly.

" Yes , well Harry blackmailed them and bribed them at the same time , I wouldn't take parenting tips from him" Ginny teased. Ron smiled and gave Harry a hearty laugh. Hermione and Ron announced that they were going to bed, which left just Harry and Ginny in the living room .

"Where are all the kids sleeping anyway ?" Harry asked Gin

" Albus , James and Hugo are in Charlie's old room , since it's the biggest. Lily and Rose are in Bill's old room , Ron and Hermione are in Ron's old room and me and you in my old room, it's a little bit of a tight squeeze though , sorry"

" I'm sure I'll cope" Harry joked . And with that they followed the rest of their family up to bed. Before he and Ginny got into bed though , Harry had a thought.

" Hey , Gin , I was thinking , maybe we could invite the Dursely's up tomorrow , you know , it would give Lexi a chance to meet some other kids that will be going to Hogwarts next year won't it? I mean we don't have to but I thought it could be quite nice."

" Ermm , yeah I guess. Actually yeah that would be great. But you should send him an owl now , it won't get there in time otherwise. You can use Pig , seeing as Winky is at home" After Hedwig had died , it took Harry a while to be able to replace her , but he eventually built up the courage , 7 months after the battle had finished. He had bought a beautiful barn owl and named her Winky. Harry agreed with her and left the room He grabbed some parchment and a quill and began to write.

_Hey Big- D , _

_Sorry if this has woken you , But I just had a thought. Tomorrow the Potter's and the Weasley's are having a big family reunion , it's been months since we have seen each other! Anyway , everyone will be there , all the Weasley's . Lots of children around Lexi's age will be coming as well , and of course Lily , James and Al will be there. So we thought , considering today went so well , if maybe you Lexi ,Elizabeth and Seb and Lucas wanted to join us? Of course there is no pressure , but if you do people will begin to arrive at around 12 ish , so send me an owl back as soon as you get this so I can come and collect you around 11 tomorrow morning. Hope you will join us , it will be lots of fun , and give Lexi a chance to get some more wizarding friends and learn more about Hogwarts.! _

_Hope to see you tomorrow _

_Your Cousin _

_Harry _

He addressed the envelope to

_Mr. D Dursley _

_The Biggest Bedroom on the Second floor_

_42 Old Compton St_

_Little Whinging _

_Surrey__  
_

_yes. _Harry thought_, that sounds okay _andhe called Pig out from his cage , now a much less-excitable owl and attached the letter to his legs and let him free to deliver the letter to his cousin. He wandered back into bed , and saw that Ginny was fast asleep , he must have been longer than he thought. He went under the duvets , and was excited about what was going to happen the following day.

...

Tap.

"Dudley (!)"

.Tap.

" Dudley !. Wake up you great buffoon"

. .

" Whaat . Huh? What's wrong?"

" Nothing's wrong "

" What did you wake me for then ? It's 1:00 in the morning!"

" Well I'm sorry but it's just , there is a tapping noise coming from outside the window and it woke me up , can you go and have a look at what it is?" He dragged himself out of bed and went to open the window. But before he could even peer outside ,a ball of fuzzy fluff flew straight into his bedroom and landed on his wife's dressing table

" AHHHH!" Elizabeth screamed.

" SHH ! You'll wake up the kids!" but it was too late , Lexi , Seb and Lucas had already stumbled into their parent's room to try and find the cause of their mum's scream. Seb was even armed with one of his plastic swords.

" It's okay guys , I'm going to take a wild guess and say that mum's just had a bit of shock. There's a owl sitting on her dresser. Over there" Lexi pointed when the boys couldn't see what she was talking about. " So , who's the letter from dad?"

" Harry, one would guess"

" Well open it then !" Lexi said very excitedly. He did as his daughter said and ripped open the envelope. As he read out the letter Lexi's face went into a humungous smile , as did the boy's , but his wife's face went into a frown.

" Tomorrow? We can't do tomorrow. Your mother is supposed to visiting" She pointed out

" No , no. Since dad has been in hospital she hasn't wanted to leave his side. She cancelled last night , saying we should next week instead."

" Yes well no. They aren't going. There isn't any need for Lexi to go , let alone Sebastian and Lucas."

" WHAT!" Lexi protested " I AM DEFINETLY GOING WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT! YOU CANT STOP ME!"

" Lexi dear , calm down , why don't you go back to bed , take the boys with you ,and I'll talk to your mum , I promise that we'll go tomorrow all right hun?" Dudley said.

" Oh yayay ! Thanks dad ! Night !" She came and gave him big hug but completely ignored her mother. She practically skipped out the room , Seb and Lucas behind her

" Liz , what on earth was that about? How could you say that she doesn't need to go! These people are our family. Not just mine , but yours as well! This is unfair on them! Now , I understand why you don't want the boys to come, and I sort of understand why _you_ don't want to come. So , as a compromise, why don't you do something with the twins tomorrow and me and Lexi will go over to the Burrow.?" He suggested.

" But Dudley , they're wizard's ! They..they could do all sorts of things to her! They could hurt her ! And ..and" But Dudley cut her off.

" AND SHE'S SOON GOING TO BE ONE OF THEM ! . Elizabeth I love you. But this is my family. Harry is like a brother to me ,I am not going to give up an opportunity to see him and the rest of the family because you are a paranoid old woman who can't be open minded enough to see that they are no different from us! I am sending a letter back to Harry telling him to pick us up at 11 in the morning, and I think it best if you stay here with the boys, seeing as you think they are just a bunch of crazy people who will hurt anyone who upsets them. I'll see you in the morning." And he stormed out the room. Taking the little owl with him.

_Hi Harry ,_

_I'd assume this is waking you up, so sorry about that but just following your instructions .Thanks so much for the invite. We would love to come! Unfortunately , Liz and the boys can't make it , they are going to visit Liz's mother _ 'yes' Dudley thought ' that's a normal thing to do on a Sunday' _So it will just be me and Lexi if that's all right. She's incredibly excited to meet some more witches and wizards who will be going to Hogwarts at the same time as her, it's a great idea on your part. See you at 11tomorrow. Looking forward to it. _

_Dudley _

After Dudley had written his reply to Harry , he went into the spare room. Not wanting to see his wife. He filled up with anger after thinking about the things she had said about his family, and he didn't want to have another argument with her. He laid his head down on the pillow and fell asleep, looking forward to the day ahead.


	5. The Burrow

Dudley woke up to the bright sunlight streaming in from his window. He looked at the clock on the wall. It was 10:15. He got out of his bed, put his dressing gown on and went downstairs. Around the kitchen table were his three children. He saw Lexi , all dressed up , he noticed that she was wearing her new makeup and shook his head

" Hey kids" he greeted them.

" Morning dad" they replied

" Dad .. what are you wearing? I mean seriously. You need to go and shower, shave and get change before Harry arrives!"Lexi told him

" Do I now ?" he replied

" Daddy , she is right , you look HORRIBLE!" Lucas said, and the boys and Lexi started shoving him into the bathroom.

After he was showered he went into the main bedroom to change , he hadn't spoken to his wife since the night before. He knocked.

" Come in" She called out

" Hi"

" Oh hello."

" Listen I just want to apologize for the way I spoke to you yester-"

" Shut up. Right now. You know that you have absolutely nothing to apologize for. It's me who does. I'm sorry , It's just going to take a while to get around the whole your-daughter-is-a-witch fiasco, but I was out of line. I know that the Potter's will never hurt anyone, and I know that Lexi has every reason to go, Im sorry Dudley."

" Thank you Liz , everything is forgotten. Last night never happened "

" I love you"

" Love you too" She smiled at him.

" Well , shouldn't you get a move on ? Harry will be here in 1/2 an hour. Go and change. I'll make sure Lexi is ready." He did as she said

...

Half an hour later, Lexi and Dursley were dressed and ready to go waiting in their living room . At exactly 11 o'clock, Harry appeared out of thin air holding a bag of green powder.

" Hello Uncle Harry! "Lexi said

" Hello gorgeous" he replied and gave her a big hug. " Hey Dudley"

" You all right mate" and they shook hands.

" Right , well if you don't mind we need to get a little bit of a move on, Molly's waiting at home and needs help setting up. And all my three and Rose and Hugo are literally bouncing of the ceilings with excitement to see you again Lexi! " she gave a huge smile.

" Okay then! But how we getting there?" she asked him

" Well , I connected your fireplace to something called the Floo Network. It means that we can travel to any house in the world by using the fireplace. All you have to do , is stand in the fireplace, sprinkle some of this powder over yourself , and say really clearly - and I mean REALLY clearly- where you want to go." Lexi looked incredibly nervous , so Dudley offered to go first. He stood in the fireplace , only just managing to get his entire 6'4 build under it. Harry sprinkled the powder over him. And he said the words very clearly.

" THE BURROW!" . A wave of green flames surrounded him. And the next thing they knew , he was gone.

" Right , your turn Lexi" She still looked awfully nervous. " Trust me , you will be fine" So , just like her dad , she stood under the fireplace , sprinkled herself with green powder and clearly said the words

" THE BURROW" And she was engulfed in green flames. Harry followed after her and before he knew it he was in the living room of the Burrow once again. Lexi ,Lily and Rose were nowhere to be seen , Harry assumed Lily and Rose had gone to give her a tour of the house, and Ron and Dudley were having a small conversation on the couch. Hermione walked over to Harry

" How did they find it?" She asked him

" I have no idea , Lexi has gone off with the girls and Dudley's talking to Ron , Merlin knows what about"

" Well , I think they're talking about their parenting skills, they both seem to think that you have beaten them in that area to, all though I hardly think it is necessary to compete over something like that."

"Yeah well , I'm not the best father in the world either"

" Yes , well they don't think that It's silly really . Besides , Dudley is actually a very good dad, I watch him with Lexi quite often , it's obvious she loves him very much. And , actually , so is Ron! Rose and Hugo just adore him"

" Always the tone of surprise" Ron interrupted her. He grabbed hold of her neck and went in for a kiss. Harry left them too it, even though he knew that Hermione and Ron were in love, he still didn't enjoy seeing their public displays of affection, because to him , it was like a brother and sister kissing, it didn't look right. Trying to figure out where his own wife had got to, he went out into the back garden , where he came face to face with a very tired looking old couple , Mr and Mrs Weasley.

" Oh ! Harry dear you're back! How did they find it? Was little Lexi okay? Did Dudley find his way all right ?"

" Yes , trust me ,Mrs. Weasley , everything was fine, Dudley is in the living room and Lexi has gone off with Rose and Lily "

" Oh Honestly Harry! It's been 18 years since you were at Hogwarts and you still can't call me Molly? You're married to my daughter for godness sake!" she winked at him. Harry didn't know why he couldn't call her Molly , especially since she was his mother-in-law, he just thought it would be wrong ,after all she had been like a mother to him since he returned to the wizarding world. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and went into the Burrow calling for all her Grandsons and granddaughters, in which she included Lexi, to come and see her.

" Hello Harry , lovely to see you again , lovely" Arthur greeted him. He had been at work this morning so Harry hadn't seen him for a few weeks

" Hello Mr Weasley, how've you been?"

"Oh excellent , excellent. Works very quiet at the moment, not many people seem to bother with messing with muggles anymore, but I'm not complaining! Any way Harry , I must dash , I promised Molly I would help her get the house prepared for today. Ta-ra!"

" Goodbye . Tell Molly if she needs help with anything just give me a shout"

"I shall be sure to pass on the message, Harry" And with that he practically ran across the garden into the Burrow.


	6. The Reunion

It was 11:45, All the Weasleys , excluding Charlie who was caught up in Romania,were due at the Burrow in 15 minutes. Harry couldn't deny the fact that he was excited to see everyone again . He went upstairs to round up the kids and by 11:55 everybody was in the living room waiting for the rest of the family. And , sure enough five minutes later there was a loud rap at the door. Mrs. Weasly stood up and opened the door. Standing behind it was tall , lanky lad with hair as red as fire- George Weasley. At his arm was his wife , Angelina Weasley and to her right was a 16 year old boy with hair the complete opposite to his dad's, dark spiky hair and a tall muscular build - Fred Weasley II. And to complete the family a dark-skinned girl with beautiful shiny long hair , the spitting image of her mum- the 12 year old , Roxanne Weasley. Behind them was a tall handsome man with long red hair and a face matted by long , deep scars across his left cheek- Bill Weasley. Holding his hand was a beautiful , thin , tall woman. She had long , blonde hair that came down to her waist and shimmered like the moonlight. Behind Fleur stood her daughter , just as beautiful as her mother , her hair tied back in a long braid. The 17 year old Dominque . Next to her was a girl just as stunning but with flaming red hair , just like her aunt's and father's , Victorie who was about 16 years old. Finally there was a boy with spiky but sleek blonde hair who was incredibly handsome with pale blue eyes and pastel white coloured skin. Louis Weasley was a 12 year old boy , shy but a very talented wizard and a very popular boy at Hogwarts. The last family to come into the Burrow was Percy , Audrey , Molly and Lucy Weasley. Molly - who was 14 -and Percy both with fiery red hair and a pale complexion, and Audrey and Lucy-who was 11-, who both had chestnut brown hair down to their shoulders. As everyone settled around the fire in the living room the smile on Mr and 's face was so big that Harry couldn't help smiling himself.

" Oh it's so lovely to see you all! It's been so long!" Mrs. Weasley was practically beaming

" Mum it's only been a few months, but of course we've missed you as well" George told her , although Harry was suspicious that he had only added the bit after seeing the look on Molly's face. After a few moments of talk and catch up , Harry realised that Dudley and Lexi had no idea who any of these people were

" I think a few introductions may be in order" Harry called Dudley and Lexi over.

" Are you ready for this guys" they both laughed and nodded their heads.

" Right , this is George , Angelina , Roxanne and Fred II" They all shook hands and greeted one another." Roxanne is going into her 2nd year at Hogwarts and Fred into his 4th"

" The second ? " Lexi asked. Harry had forgotten , the Dursley's had no idea about Fred , because they weren't talking at the time of his death

" That's a story for another day" Harry said simply" Anyway , this is Percy , Audrey , Molly and Lucy" Again they all greeted each other , Lexi even hugged Lucy and Molly." Lucy is also starting Hogwarts this year Lexi" he told her , she smiled at her and hugged her again." And Molly is going into her 4th year"

" Finally , this is Bill , Fleur , Dominique , Victorie, and Louis" Lexi blushed very much so when she and Louis were introduced, as did Louis, and Dudley , Harry and Bill all shared a look that said exactly the same thing.

" Don't forget about us" Harry and the rest of the Weasley's turned to face the door where he saw a tall , thin boy with bubblegum-blue coloured hair and big brown eyes. Next to him , another red haired man , with scars and burns all over his body. Harry was the first to meet his Godson's arms. And the first to meet her son's.

" Teddy! " Harry exclaimed " What are you doing here?, You told us you were in Scotland for a month!"

"And Charlie dear , why on earth didn't you tell us you were coming , it's been almost a year since i-we've seen you!" exclamied

" Well , we may have told a teeny-tiny whit lie to make more of a special occasion"

" Well Merlin's beard did it work" Harry and Molly both replied

" We haven't seen you for over two months Ted, how was travelling?" Harry asked his Godson

" It was incredible Harry. I went to Asia , Australia, Bulgaria , where I met a very old looking Viktor Krum at a the Quidditch Stadium tour" Hermione turned bright red and Ron began to laugh " And then I went around South America which was amazing" He went over to kiss his girlfriend, Victorie Weasley, the whole room went a little quiet until they broke apart.

" Woaa , that sound fantastic ! " Lexi cried out

" Oh Merlin , sorry, Lexi , Dudley , this is my Godson Teddy Lupin and the last Weasley , Charlie"

" Hiya , nice to meet to you" Dudley greeted them each.

"Hello" Lexi said " Where are your family ?" She asked Teddy. The room suddenly went very tense.

" Again , that's a story for another day" Harry told them. But Dudley looked at him and could tell that he had pieced it together.

Harry looked at Teddy who had gone awfully quiet and mouthed to Harry '_thank you'. _

_..._

After hours of talking and playing games and a meal that would feed a small tribe of Giants , people were itching to get out and play Quidditch. Practically everybody wanted to play so there was going to be two matches , the adults and kids .The teams were Harry , Bill , Hermione , Teddy , Dominique , George and Angelina vs. Mr and , Charlie , Victorie, Ginny, Ron and Percy. For the kids it was Albus , Molly , Fred II and Hugo vs. Roxanne , Louis , Rose and James. Lily , Lucy and Lexi all sat out because they had never been on a broomstick before. Dudley was sitting with them , watching Lucy and Lexi get to know each other , he was pretty certain that they were going to be really good friends. Half way through the adults match , however ,he needed to get some space. He went back inside the Burrow , he thought he better call Liz , just to check everything was okay. Sure enough , when he took his mobile out he had 7 missed call and 3 text messages, but , when he tried to call her back , he had no signal. After a while , he gave up , and headed into the living room. A feeling of confusion , sadness and exhaustion swept over him. It was only just dawning on him that his little girl was about to go off an live a life that he wouldn't be a part of , and it was killing him. And before he knew it , his eyes were filling with tears. This was the first time Dudley had cried since his sons were born. after a few moments though footsteps came through the house and a warming voice made him look up

" Is everything okay" Audrey asked him

" Yeah , I guess so , why aren't you playing in the match?" He sniffed , trying to subtly wipe away his tears.

" I'm a muggle" She said simply

" You're a- a muggle" he asked , shocked.

" Yep , have you seen me do any magic tonight?" She pointed out

" I guess not" he replied

" Listen , I know what you're going through. Finding out that my boyfriend-at-the-time was a wizard freaked me out , I even broke up with him for a while. And now ,seeing my youngest go off to a magic school where I won't get to see her everyday day? Not even speak to her on the phone? It crushes me inside when I think about it"

" How did you overcome that feeling?"

" I just had to accept that this was the life destined for my children. There was nothing I could do about it. Percy helped me through it of course , and he understood what I was talking about, and then I just learned to accept to it."

" How long did it take?"

" Only a few months ago , around Christmas time. I looked around me and I said to myself 'this is the way it has to be whether I like it or not' and so I just got on with it."

" But , what if she forgets about me , and her normal life back in Surrey. What if she forgets all the 'muggle' way of life and all the things she's learned at her normal school. She's going to be a completely different person" He argued

" Well , for starters , you can't use the word 'normal' because from now on , her 'normal' life will be at Hogwarts doing magic , and that will be her school and where she gets her education. And you need to start accepting that , it is imperative. Think how Lexi must feeling as well. She needs you , more then she has needed anyone in her life. She needs her dad, Dudley" he looked up at her and simply said

"Thank you"

And with that , she stood up and walked back out of the room, leaving Dudley feeling much more optimistic than he was earlier. He stood up , and walked back outside to rejoin the party.


	7. Mr and Mrs Dursley

After the Quidditch matches were over ( 210-70 to Harry's team,170-30 on James' team) it was already 7:30. Dudley couldn't think on what that had done all time! One thing for sure was that he had had a really wonderful time. He had loved getting to know all the Weasley's , they were all really lovely people, and he loved watching Lexi make friends with some more Hogwarts students, although he had a suspicion that she was becoming a bit too friendly with a particular Louis Weasley. It was time for the Dursley's to return home. All the Weasley's and Potter's were making the trip to King's Cross Station to have the children returned to Hogwarts for the following week. Harry helped Dudley and Lexi back into the fireplace. He offered to go back with them but Dudley said there was no need. Lexi was almost in tears that she had to go , she had had so much fun meeting everyone. But they had to, so after a lot of goodbyes and hugs and kisses they found themselves once again covered in bright green flames leading them back to their house in Little Whinging. They arrived in their living room , ash all over them. Lexi ran straight upstairs to shower. Elizabeth was nowhere to be seen. Not in the living room , kitchen , their bedroom or the bathroom. Just as he was beginning to get worried , he found her with the boys , and to his surprise , his mother, out in the garden , sitting on a picnic blanket eating cake. Dudley thought this was very strange , they all looked quite sad. His mother especially had tear stained faces. He walked over to his wife and sat down. Neither of the women said anything to him , but Petunia told the boys to go upstairs and have a bath. As they returned to the light of the house , Liz turned to him.

" Hello Dudley" she said and without waiting for him to respond she carried on " I've just received some very interesting news from your wife." She glared at him " Lexi. My little Lexi. How could you do this to me Dudley?"

"Mother , it's not like I had a choice, she was born with it , I can't help it" he told her.

" Look Petunia , this isn't why you wanted to talk to Dudley, if I can accept what my daughter is then you will have to accept what your granddaughter is" Liz snapped.

" Right , of course. Although this isn't over , but Dudley I will try and get on with life as if she isn't .. one of those. But I'm here to give you some more important news. I went to visit your father today. I haven't seen him for a month. But just I went in , he had another heart attack, a bad one. The doctors are doing everything they can but they say he made need surgery. But Vernon told them , if it came to that , he wouldn't go through with it. Said he always wanted to end things on his own terms and that this was the 'opportunity' he was waiting for I'm so sorry son." Dudley was silent. He couldn't believe what he had just heard.

" Why didn't you call me. I could've come home, I could've changed his mind"

" I called you many times , you didn't reply" And sure enough when Dudley took out his phone he had 13 missed calls , 8 voicemails and 11 text messages.

" Oh , I see. But that doesn't matter now, what's the likely hood of him.. staying alive without the surgery?"

" There isn't any. He needs a heart valve transplant, but he simply refuses. They've given him 6-8 weeks at most" Nobody said anything. Dudley felt a tear stream down is face. It was weird how he hadn't cried in 7 years , but suddenly he did just that twice in the same day. He felt his mother's arms wrap around him, heard her whisper soothing words into his ear. But none of it made any difference. He just wanted to run. He wanted to get away from his house. He wanted to curl up and rock himself to sleep. The thought made him shiver. He went inside the house. Grabbed his coat and car keys. Walked onto the drive , slamming the door behind him and drove off towards the hospital. He needed a word with his father. The sadness he felt only minutes before had long gone and was slowly being replaced by a red hot sizzling anger. As he approached the Royal Surrey Hospital after what seemed like hours of driving he sped into the car park , stormed out of his car and headed straight for the glass doors that would lead him to his father. But before he could get further than a meter away from his car there was a loud _crack _and before his eyes stood the one and only Harry Potter.

" Harry!"

"Dudley" He replied

" What .. I mean why .. how. what?"

" Your wife just called me , she explained everything. I'm so sorry Dudley. I promised her I'd come and find you before you did something stupid."

" Why are you sorry? I bet you're glad he's dying" he spat at the ground , Harry was very shocked at this comment.

" Oh course I'm not glad! I can't pretend that it's going to haunt me for the rest of my life. But Dudley , i'm sorry for you. I know how much he means to you , so I came to give you some moral support" He consoled him

" Well I don't need your bloody support! I just need to speak to my father" Harry was , again , shocked at his outburst , but he could see that Dudley need a shoulder to lean , even if he hadn't realised it himself yet.

" Dudley I'm just trying to help you. I'm not going to let you do this alone" Dudley's face dropped. And once again the tears started streaming down his face. He walked over to Harry , and practically collapsed onto him . They stood in the middle of the car park for few moments , until Dudley made a huge sniffing noise.

" Thank you , I'm sorry , I'm honestly really grateful that you're here Harry" he smiled tentatively at him , and Harry smiled back

" So , shall we go up ?"

" Yeah , please." They made their into the reception. A tall blonde woman told them where they could find and they went up to go and see him.

" Well , this is D" Harry said , pointing at the door that had the number the woman had just given him.  
" Mhmmm." was all Dudley said.

" Listen Dudley , I'll come in with you if you like, I won't say anything , but you and your dad can have a good long chat , I'll just be in the corner if you need me?"

" If you don't mind , I would be really helpful Harry"

" If I minded I wouldn't of offered" Dudley hugged his cousin once again. Harry was too busy mentally preparing himself for a reunion - after 18 years- that he was sure he would never have to face , that he didn't notice Dudley opening the door , and suddenly being gently pushed inside the room. There, lying on the old uncomfortable looking bed was an incredibly large man , with a big blonde bushy moustache; Vernon Dursley.


	8. Pleads

A smile stretched across his chubby face, but it wasn't a smile of amusement or joy , it was a smile of pity.

" Dudley m' boy, you came to see me ?" he bellowed at Dudley , evidently not realising how loud he was being.

" Of course , I came as soon as I heard" he replied

" Well Dudley I understand why you here but-" he trailed off. Staring at the boy with black hair , a lightening shaped scar and round glasses standing behind Dudley. His face fell. His mouth dropped into a very large 'O' shape when he saw Harry.

" what the ruddy hell are you doing here !" He roared at Harry

" Dad let me explain" Dudley cut in before he could go any further " I know I probably should've told you this a while ago , but well , I contacted Harry about 5 years after we came out of hiding. I felt that it was only right to apologize for the way I treated him and thank him for the things he did to protect us. He was shocked to say the least but after we talked for a while it was evident that we had a lot in common , and now , 12 years later we still get on like brothers, I'm sorry I didn't tell you , but I thought that it might make you mad"

" MAD? WELL OF COURE IM BLOODY MAD BOY ! THAT BOY IS VERMIN , BESMIRCHING THE NAME OF..OF HUMAN !" he shouted

" Dad , calm down, now , you've just had two heart attacks , and have been given six weeks to live , so stop shouting." he told his father.

" Right. Yes. Okay. Potter come here." Harry quickly walked over to his 'Uncle's' beside.

" I'm telling you now boy. If you insist on being a part of my Dudley's life , his children - nay - my grandchildren are to know nothing about your .. your .. abnormality! Is. That. Understood. ?!" Harry couldn't help it , he let out a small laugh. But before he could tell him that Lexi was a witch , he got a look from Dudley that quite clearly said ' do not tell him anything'.

" You really don't get it do you Uncle V. What does it matter if they find out? Is it worse than having a grandad who practically kills himself because of pride? So that he can ' end it on his own terms'. Vernon , if you really cared about any of those children , or your own child and wife, you'd stick around for a little longer so you can watch them grow into the amazing and talented people they are going to be. What you're doing is selfish , inconsiderate and damn right mean. So before you give me lectures on how to live my life . Why don't you think about not ending yours? " he finished his speech and there was silence.

" Don't you dare talk to me like that" he went to grab Harry by the collar, but Dudley stopped him.

" No dad! Harry is 100% right. If you care about any of us one bit , you will have that surgery before it is too late"

" I can't "

" Why not? Wouldn't you rather see your grandchild grow up , go old and grey with the woman you love? see me make something of my life?" At this point Harry had gone to sit on the plastic chair in the corner of the room, leaving Dudley and his dad to talk things out.

" Of course I would , I'm not an idiot" he replied " but I can't. Dudley, if I have this surgery then my life will never be same. It would fix my heart , but it wouldn't make my life better"

" Dad , the whole point of the surgery is too make you life better! It would change your life. You would be able to come with us to the beach , not stay at home because you're feeling tired. You'd be able to come out with us on country walks , not stay in because you think you'll get tired too soon. Dad , if you have the transplant , everything will change , for the better."

" I understand what you mean Dudley , but the risk is just too much. I'm sorry , but whatever you say , I'm not changing my mind on this one" And to Harry's utter astonishment, a tear streamed down his Uncle's face. He hastily wiped it away before either of the boys could see it.

" Please" was all Dudley , and for the fourth time that day , tears began falling down his face " I can't watch you do this too yourself. It's killing me inside , it kills me. Please dad. Do it for me" he begged

" I'm sorry Dudley" was all he replied

" Then I think we should be leaving Harry" he looked over towards the corner of the room. Harry stood up , gave a curt nod in the direction of Vernon , and him and his cousin left the room , leaving Mr. Dursley alone , ill and utterly bored in his room.

**Sorry for the short chapter! Hope you're enjoying the story so far , Keep reviewing guys please , means alot :) **


	9. Letters From Everyone

**Okay so I know that this is my second update today but I really love writing this fanfic and I just want to share as much as I can with you. Hope you enjoy. Please review :( shout to 'fuckmerobp' again a very faithful follower , review every chapter of both my stories so thanks for that! **

The two men arrived back at Dudley's house. Harry hesitated on the porch step , not knowing whether his cousin wanted both his parents finding out they had been in touch in the same night. But when Dudley saw him , he quickly ushered Harry inside. As they entered the house they came face to face with a very anxious looking Petunia Dursley. She stared directly at her nephew. Her mouth wide open. A tear filled her eye . Her face quickly went from pure shock to confusion and then finally - to Harry's complete astonishment- a smile stretched across her face.

" Harry" she looked at him. Not shouting, or raising her voice. Just acknowledging his presence.

" Aunt Petunia" He replied, hesitating. Again , her face wasn't angry , upset or shocked as he spoke . She had a twinkle in her eye , a twinkle that Dudley had never seen , for all 36 years of his life. She put down her grandson who was latched around her hip, took of her apron and walked across the hall to where her son and her nephew stood. And cautiously lifted her arms and wrapped them around the boy standing in front of her. Harry was shocked to his very core. His heart stopped beating the entire 3 seconds she embraced him. His aunt , the aunt who had shunned him since he was a baby , the aunt who had treated him like vermin all his life , the aunt who made fun of her sister's death, the aunt who had given him a toothpick , old smelly socks or a 50p coin for birthday's and Christmases , was hugging him. Actually , properly , genuinely hugging him. She stayed silent throughout the entire encounter. After a few seconds , Harry freed himself from his Aunt's grasp. He had no idea what had just happened. Dudley broke the silence.

" Seb , why don't you go back up to bed. I'll come up and read a story and tuck you in." he addressed his son who was standing , looking utterly bemused on the stair case after watching the event that had just occurred " I'm not quite sure what you're doing up at midnight but never mind , never mind" and with that Dudley walked up the stairs , ushering his son to follow, they turned a corner , leaving Harry and Petunia alone in the hall.

" I'm not sure what just happened." They were the first words out of Harry's mouth.

" Well , I have something to say and admit to you Harry. But I don't think this is the best place for the conversation. Let's go into the living room. Would you like a drink? Tea? Beer? Water?" she asked him.

" No , thank you." Harry had tried tea and beer before and quite frankly he couldn't see the desire that muggles had for either or them , they tasted like goblin piss, although he would never point that out to his aunt.

" Well sit down then" He did as he was told and sat on the black leather sofa at the edge of the living room.

" I believe I have some explaining to do. I would appreciate it if you let me give me my full explanation before reacting?" `She asked him

" Of course" Harry replied. Feeling more curious and yet more awkward as time went on.

" It started on the night that Lily and James met Vernon. We arrived at their house at around 7 o clock. It was obvious to begin with that Vernon disapproved of both of them, he knew what they were at this point , which added to the hatred. The men were both trying to prove themselves , trying to prove that they were the better man. Vernon quickly got angry at your father , and Lily also. I was angry and Vernon and Lily , and we quickly left after a disastrous night out. Lily burst into tears and I didn't see her for about 2 months after. But we both decided that it needed to be dealt with. We met at her local park. We talked everything over and admitted that things got too over the top. We hugged and made up and that was the end of that - or so I thought . We got a little drunk and funnily enough that was the night that she told me her and James were trying for a baby- You. Anyway , after a while we made our way back home. It was very late by the time I got back. That's when it first happened. Vernon was furious at me for staying out so late and getting so drunk . He called me horrible things , cursed at me until the late hours of the morning. He called Lily and James all sorts of things , bad words and people, I was shocked at how much hatred he suddenly had for both of them. I went to sleep on the couch , crying. I couldn't believe that the man I loved would talk to me like that. During the night , I decided that in the near future I was going to leave him. I had though it through and I promised myself that I would end it. But over the next week , I discovered that I was pregnant with Dudley , 2 months gone by the time I found out. I was scared , I didn't know what to do. I couldn't leave Vernon , purely because I couldn't be a single mother, unmarried . So I told him. And he said that_ he_ wouldn't leave _me_ , as long as cut as many ties as possible with the Potter's. And , I can assure it was with regret, that I chose my boyfriend and unborn son over my sister. During the next two months , we moved in together , got married and the Potter's were never mentioned. Now do you understand Harry? Now do you understand why I treated you like I did? I had no choice. Vernon's threat was always in my mind. I couldn't have him leave me. I just didn't have a choice." She finished her story. And Harry sat in silence. Not knowing what to say, when all of a sudden he found himself crying. Crying harder than he had cried since Lily was born. He hugged his aunt , and they held so tight to each other for the next few minutes or so. Of course Harry still had questions. But he could wait. There was no doubt in his mind that Petunia was telling the truth. No one could fake the emotion in her voice , nor in her hug. They finally drew apart.

" You believe me?" she sobbed

" More than I've ever believed anyone since the day my wife told me she loved me" he told her.

" I have a niece-in-law?"

" Yes. She's called Ginny. And she's the most wonderful woman I have ever met. But we will have time for that later. I just .. I have a question "

" Of course , it's only natural"

" Why tell me now? Why not when I was a child? I could've kept it between you and I" He questioned her.

" That's a good question, and all I can answer is that it was a too bigger a risk. I couldn't have Vernon getting a whiff of anything that may have been going on. He would've gone mental. And I've decided to tell you now because , and I don't mean to sound like a bitch , he's got 6 weeks to live. He's not going to find out, and I won't feel bad about it." Harry understood everything now. He had no questions.

" Well , that's all I need to know. Thank you for everything Petunia, I hope that in the near future we can have the relationship that I always wanted" He stood up, and they hugged again , but just before he could disapparate, she called out into the hall

" I have something to show you!" He walked back into the living room, she was bent over the floorboard under the sofa, and pulled out a very old , battered , mahogany box. She unclicked it and the lid popped off. From inside it , she withdrew a crumpled , tea stained looking letter and passed it too Harry.

" Read it" she told him. He carefully unfolded the delicate paper.

_Dear Petunia, _

_I know it's been a while since we've spoken. I never will truly understand why you decided to drop me from your life completely ,but I can only assume it has something to do Vernon. But I just wanted to announce the birth our beautiful baby boy, he's called Harry. After our uncle. I hope that one day you will get to meet him. It would mean the world to me and James if you were to get to know your nephew. Thank you for everything. _

_Your Sister _

_Lily_

x

Harry didn't know what to say, but he didn't think that Petunia expected him to say anything She withdrew another letter , just as old as the first. And handed it to him. He delicately unfolded the old letter

_Dear Petunia _

_Please. It's been almost two years since I've seen you. I need to see you again before it's too late. We're going to die. Me and James and Harry. We're all going to die. He's coming for us , he's going to destroy us. Please Petunia , I need you to think for once. Pick me before him. Pick me before that lump of meat you call a husband . I need to make amends with you, no matter what it costs. I will always love you Petunia no matter what happens. Remember that. Remember us. Remember me. _

_Love always. _

_Lily_

_xxx_

Harry found himself crying again. Reading the desperate tone of what may have been his mother's last letter brought up all the emotion again. And before he had time to compose himself. She pulled out another , final letter. Once again , he unfolded the letter.

_Dear Mr and Mrs Dursley. _

_This boy is your nephew. Your sister and brother-in-law have been murdered. A man named Lord Voldemort killed them , and in turn he tried to kill Harry. The curse he fired at the baby boy backfired against him. He lost everything tonight. None of our world know of his whereabouts. But I can assure that in the future he will return and be at large once again. And when he does , Harry shall be in grave danger. His mother's love saved him tonight. A magical protection has been placed around your house , which will keep Harry safe from harm, with one condition. He must call this place home. The minute he turns his back on it, he will be in danger of death. It is up to you to make sure that he is loved here , and he feels part of the family until he is 17. Only then will the protection break by law. Keep him safe Petunia. Love him like he is your own son. He will grow up to be like his mother and father. He will be an incredible talented wizard. And I implore you to tell him what he will be as he ages. _

_Thank you_

_Kind Regard_

_Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore _

Harry was completely shocked , this was letter that he had always wanted to read. And now he had, he felt wonderful. His heart melted at the sight of seeing his old headmasters slanted , curly handwriting. And for the first time in years he pictured his face. The crooked nose. The half-moon spectacles. And of course , the long , silvery beard. He felt himself shaking.

" This is incredible." he told his aunt

" Keep them." she replied " you need them more than I do. I grew up with your mother , I still remember her smell , her long thick flowing hair. Her beautiful emerald green eyes. So please , take them. You deserve something to remember her.

" Thank you" he tucked the letters safely in his pocket. He hugged his aunt one more time. Promising to visit with Ginny and the children as soon as the summer holidays commenced , and disapparated.


	10. Tears

**Again Sorry for the short chapter , but the story flows better this way. Just wanted to clarify some thing that has been bothering me. A few people have sent me messages saying that I got the ages of all the kids 'wrong'. This isn't possible as JK has never actually specified what year each one was born in so yeah .. ahah. Hope you enjoy :) Please review :) **

Dudley heard the loud crack of his cousin disapparating, and couldn't help feel a little hurt that he hadn't come up to say goodbye, but then realized that Harry presumed he was asleep , as it was now 12:45. Dudley couldn't help but wonder about how quickly and drastically the day had changed. Was it only yesterday that Lexi found out she was a witch? And was it only this morning that Harry had come to take away for the party with the Weasley's. He couldn't believe how much thing had changed. The day had begun on a massive high , but ended on a spectacular low. He couldn't get the image out of his mind; his father , lying alone in an old , smelly hospital, dying of heart disease , which Dudley could only assume was excruciatingly painful. His stomach twisted up and down and around and around with guilt. He relieved the moment that he had walked out of his dad's hospital room , and the look of sadness upon his face as he watched his son leave. It had been an impulse decision, one of annoyance and anger. And then he remembered the reason for his anger, the conversation that they had had. His dad was going to die. But he didn't have to. And the anger hit Dudley again like a pan of boiling hot water. He couldn't sleep now after thinking about the evening's event , so he went downstairs , to what he didn't know. He carefully tip-toed across the floorboard in his bedroom , reached the top of the stairs and wondered down , until he reached the main hall. He began to walk to the kitchen , to get a cup of coffee and a piece of left over birthday cake , when he heard a gentle sob coming from his living room. He thought about who it could be before he went in, not his mother , he had seen her go upstairs to the spare bedroom - Dudley having refused to make her take the journey home to Number 4- before he had gone to sleep. The twins were most certainly asleep , he had put them to bed himself which only left.

" Lexi?" He whispered cautiously as he walked over to her. The scene on the couch in front of him almost made his heart burst. His little girl was lying there , bloodshot eyes , a face redder than a Weasley's hair and scratches all over her face from where she had been rubbing her eyes so much. She was curled up in a ball , rocking back and forth, when she felt her dad's gentle touch on her face , she sat up , rubbed her eyes and collapsed back into him. He wrapped his arms around her , holding her tighter than he ever had before. His baby daughter was upset and hurt , and he needed to know what was wrong.

" Oh baby girl , what on Earth is the matter" he asked soothingly.

" I-I-I-t'sss the llllee-tt-err" she sobbed.

" what do you mean sweetie?" although he thought he had a pretty good guess.

" w-eeee-lll itttt'sss jjjjjussstt thhaaat iiii donnnn'tt waaannnttt tooo beeee a wwwittcchhh , eeevvverrry bboooddyyy isss goooinnnggg to beeee bettttterrr thaaannn meeeeee" and she curled up again and burst into even more tears.

" Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Look at me here young lady. When you get to Hogwarts in September, there are going to be lots of other children in your situation. Loads and loads of kids at your new school won't know any magic what-so-ever! And , you have a head start , because you have your uncle Harry don't you? And you got James and Al who are in higher years than you , so they can teach you loads of stuff! And all your new friends you met today, 'eh? Trust me you're going to be a wonderful witch , you're going to have a magical time at Hogwarts , you're going to have loads and loads of friends there , you're going to be in the best house ,and be an amazing girl. Okay? Is that all understood" he winked at her. She looked up and smiled and feebly nodded her head. She had stopped crying now , but still had marks all over her face from where she was rubbing so hard.

" Thank you dad"

" No problem hun , Just doing my job. Now , I'm going to take you up to bed , get you a hot 'bena and read you a story" he said

" Actually you know what dad , I think just the 'bena is okay ,I can take myself up to bed and to be honest I don't really need a bedtime story anymore." she told him

" I know love , I was just teasing you , now go on run up, quietly mind, and I'll bring up your drink"

" Okay thanks dad" and she went upstairs. As he walked through the dining room to get to the kitchen to get the cup of hot 'bena he bumped into his wife , she looked utterly shocked and practically jumped on him.

" You , are the best husband and father I could've possibly asked for. The way you handled that melts my heart. I mean , to get her from crying her eyes out to bouncing up the stairs within 15 minutes is incredible. I love you Dudley Dursley." and she gave him a kiss on the lips. After delivering the drink up to Lexi he and his wife went back into bed, eagerly awaiting a long , deep night's sleep. But then he remembered it was Monday tomorrow...


	11. AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hey guys , just a quick update , I've been on holiday for 2 weeks and didn't bring my laptop so I haven't been writing , will update before next Wednesday though , promise :D Love you all byebye.


	12. Changes

**Okay so I may have forgotten that I wrote this chapter before I went away.. whopps ! So here it is. Have really enjoyed writing this story , if you've enjoyed reading then please go and review! It would mean the world to me! Thank you **

35 miles away in Godrics Hollow, Harry and Ginny were sleeping , perfectly content in each other's arms. But before they knew it , the loud , ear piercing beep of the alarm clock ruined the peace of the morning. Ginny woke first

" Harry?" she called into the room. " Harry?"

" I'm here , I'm up , I'm awake." he pulled himself off the bed and went over to open the curtains , it was a beautiful sunny day. It was the last day of term , and today Harry , Ginny , Ron and Hermione were taking the day off work to pick up their children from Kings Cross. The journey was around an hour and a half from their house to the Station , so they needed to leave at 9:30.

" Why can't we just use side along apparation again?" Harry asked his wife , who was about to get into the shower.

" Oh for the last time Harry! Rose and James don't like side-along , it made James throw up last time. So this is the only other way we can do it. Now please , just go and get ready and let me shower. We have to leave in an hour and Hermione and Ron will be here in half of that!And you need to pick Lexi up! So please just shut up Harry!" She shouted at him. Harry chuckled to himself under his breather. Lexi was coming with them to Kings Cross , she wanted to see the Hogwarts express and go on the platform before September. Ginny went back into the shower and Harry hastily got changed into his muggle clothes ( although he couldn't remember the last time he had worn robes outside of work) and made his way downstairs to make him and Ginny breakfast. He made her a bowl of porridge and himself a sausage sandwich. Ginny came down 10 minutes later , so he reheated the food with a simple spell and they ate their meal , buzzing with the thought of seeing their children again soon. After breakfast Harry went to collect Lexi from Old Compton St , he was a little nervous because this was the first time he would've done something with her , unaccompanied by Dudley. He gave his wife a quick kiss and apparated out of the kitchen.

He arrived at the end of the road , it was very hot so he took his jacket off and walked up the street until he found the oh so familiar number 42. He had visited this house many times over the past month , as Lexi wanted to see him and Ginny more than ever now. In many ways the discovery that she was a witch had bought him a closer family then he could ever have imagined. especially now since him and his aunt were mending their broken relationship. As he walked up the cobbled drive to the oak door, there was a difference in the atmosphere. There was no buzz of excitement. No laughing twins could be heard playing one-on-one football in the back garden, none of the widows were open , usually wafting out delicious aromas of all sorts of treats from the kitchen. And no music could be heard blasting out from the second top window on the second floor , with a very delicate girls' singing voice following afterwards. Harry was scared , and thought the worse ... but no .. surely? Not yet?

He continued up the drive and knocked on the door. To begin with nobody answered, he tried again. After a few more minutes he was beginning to think they were out and had forgotten the arrangements and began to walk away, when a small brown haired boy answered the door. Harry could only just spot the difference between Lucas and Sebastian, so he had to examine him before speaking.

" Lucas?" he said softly , but got no reply. The boy in front of him was edgy. He had a red face and looked like he was in pain. Harry tried again. " Lucas are you okay? I'm here to pick up Lexi? Is your dad in? Or your mum?" Harry didn't quite like the idea of talking to Liz , he knew she didn't like 'his kind' much and that she was struggling to deal with what her daughter was. Finally Lucas responded.

" Daddy's upstairs with a bottle of apple juice. Mummy has gone to see Grandma Petunia And Lexi is with Seb because me and him were crying earlier so she had to look after us because daddy was acting very strange because of the funny apple juice he is drinking. But if you would like to come and talk to him , then you can." And with that , Lucas ran off back upstairs , leaving the front door open. Harry took his departing words to mean he could come in. He had a feeling he knew what was going on , that Dudley wasn't drinking apple juice , but beer. That Liz was visiting Grandma Petunia because her Husband refused to make the arrangements with her , and that Lexi was looking after the boys , because Dudley was drunk , asleep and in bed at 9 o'clock in the morning. Harry could think of only one thing that would make his cousin act like that .. it had happened after all. Vernon Dursley- the man who Harry had despised, the man who had made Harry's childhood a living hell- was dead.


	13. Deals and Dilemmas

He entered the house , and cautiously made his way up the staircase. As he walked along the corridor , he found the bedroom he was looking for. Asleep , unshaven and surrounded by beer bottles and cans , Dudley Dursley was lying on the bed. His hair was a mess. It looked like he hadn't showered for days. The usual good-looks of Dudley , his muscular body seemed to have been deflated like a ball when popped. He was wearing a plain white t shirt that looked like it hadn't been changed for days and a pair of boxers. Harry cautiously walked over to the man lying on the bed.

" Dudley." he shook him. No response. " Dudley, it's me Harry" He stirred a little and his eyes twitched open.

" What?" Dudley breath smelled awful. Harry was disgusted at his cousin.

" You need to get up now Dudley"

" No , what's the point , he's gone. Dead. Never coming back , my fault"

" The point is you have three very upset children needing support to get through this. I understand that this must be heart breaking for you , believe me I've had my fair share of loss over the years. And you want to know how I got through it? I got up every morning and carried on. I leant on my friends shoulders when I needed support. I grieved and I said goodbye, and then I moved on , for the sake of my own well being. So please Dudley , you're not going to bring your father back by drinking your own body weight in beer. I'm going to help you get through this , and we're going to do it together , I'll be with you every step of the way because , Dudley , you can't do it alone, and neither can your children."

" What do you care about my family? You don't give a shit about my father! You can go now thank you. Your company is not wanted anymore." he snapped at Harry

" Well I'm sorry Dudley but I'm afraid I just can't do that. This is what's going to happen. I'm going to take your children out for the day , into London. When I bring them home , I think it would be good if you were showered and dressed , the house was tidy and dinner is on the table. We'll be back at 7:30. Please Dudley get it together. And when we get home , me and you are going to talk about this like adults." Dudley finally got up and off the bed , he shook Harry's hand and went into the next room. Harry heard Dudley saying goodbye to his children and going through into the shower. Harry felt relieved , and hopeful that this was the end of Dudley's bad antics , however short lived they may have been. At that moment , all three children walked in , Lexi holding her two younger brothers hands. Her face wasn't red from tears like the twins beside her , but sad deep eyes. There was no cheeky smile on her face when she saw her uncle, no twinkle in her eye at the thought of see more of the magical world. Harry didn't know what to do so he just said

" Hello guys , you ready to go?" and they all just nodded. So he grabbed their hands, and disapparated them to his home in Godrics Hollow. They apparated right into the centre of the kitchen. As soon as they arrived , Lexi at least , seemed to cheer up , the boys however looked even more upset then they were to begin with. Harry and the three children went into the living room , sitting on the couch were Ron , Hermione and Ginny were sitting . They smiled at the new arrivals and Lexi went over to see them all. The boys placed themselves on the couch , not speaking and looking very nervous around the adults in the room. Ron exchanged a look Harry , a look that said 'What's going on mate?'.

" Ron , mate can I talk to you for a sec , outside?"

" Sure , yeah. Kitchen?" Harry nodded and they walked through.

" What's going on with them? The boys look like crap!" Ron asked Harry.

" Vernon, it's happened Ron , he's dead. I don't know when , and I'm sure as hell not going to ask them, I have no idea what to do. When I went to pick them up Dudley was a wreck on his bed , stunk of beer unshaven for days , or showered for that matter. And , I don't know what to do with the boys , I told him i'd take them with us , but they obviously don't want to be here , and I can't take them to Dudley while he's in this state. I need to give him time to get up and ready. Advice"

" Bloody hell."

"Ron , I'm actually asking for advice here"

" Right. Well , why don't you .. erm , well you could always , I mean , well it might not-"

" Hermione!" Harry called. " Ron you're fired , go watch the kids" Harry winked at Ron as he left the room.

" You called?" Hermione appeared around the kitchen door. " My husband giving you useless advice?"

" More like non-existent." Harry replied. Hermione started to laugh.

" Right , well what's troubling you?" she asked him. He repeated the story he had just told Ron. Hermione looked at him utter shock upon her face , like she was thinking ' How could someone be such an idiot'

" Well , it's obvious isn't it? You take him to his grandma and his mother , honestly Harry .. You can defeat the most powerful dark wizard of all time but not figure out what to do with two little boys who don't want to be here?" Harry laughed and playfully punched her in the arm- albeit it may have been a bit harder than he anticipated- but in his defence he hated it when people bought up Voldemort.

" Well , yeah I guess you're right. Do you think you could come with me?" He asked her

" Umm sure , I guess , what about Ginny?" she asked him

" She's in a bad mood with me" he told her. Hermione nodded her head and said

" Of course I will, I personally would not what to be on the receiving end of a Ginny tantrum. We'll let Ron deal with that." and they walked out together , into the living to take the boys back to their mother.


	14. Drop Off's and Pick Up's

Harry, Hermione , Sebastian and Lucas arrived on the street corner. It had been almost 20 years since Harry had been to this road. Everything was the same. The hedges were still just as unnaturally square as they had been the last time. The gardens still as pampered as before. As they walked up the drive of number 4 , Harry found himself unable to talk. It was horrible. and he suddenly found himself reliving the experiences he had under this very roof. The treatment he received from his now dead uncle that was bordering on child abuse.

" Harry? Harry , are you okay?" Hermione asked.

" Yeah , yeah I'm fine."

" Are you sure , you look awfully pale." She sounded concerned

" Honestly Hermione , I'm fine." He walked up the rest of the drive , and rang the doorbell. His heart beating faster and faster as time went on. After what felt like minutes Elizabeth opened the door. She looked shocked to see them. And immediately she took the twins inside the house.

" Why aren't they with their father?" she demanded of them

" I went to pick up Lexi this morning , Dudley was in no state to look after any of them today. He promised me though that he would have it together when I got back. Don't worry , Lexi is fine with me." he added , after he saw that she was about to protest.

" Oh , I see , I knew he wasn't handling it well ,that's why I'm here doing funeral arrangements , not him , but I had no idea he was that bad"

" It wasn't terrible , he just needed to sort himself out and stop moping, and drinking"

" Well, thank you for bringing them to me Harry. Would you like to come in? Petunia is just going through the final arrangements for the funeral"

" No. Thank you. Me and Hermione best be off. We're due at Kings Cross in a couple of hours" Plus , Harry didn't have any desire to step back into the house he grew up in , at least , not yet. He and Hermione turned around to leave , but just before they could disapparate, Petunia was suddenly there , grabbing Harry by the elbow.

" I'm sorry." was all she said

" Sorry?" Harry questioned her

" I know why you won't come in. I can see it on your face. It's the same look Dudley has whenever he visits. You hate this place. And that's my fault." She wrapped his arms around him. " I do love you , you know Harry." And with that she walked away, back into the house. Elizabeth followed , giving them a feeble smile before she shut the door behind herself.

" Harry" Hermione said , she gave him a hug , it lasted forever. Harry hadn't realised it himself but he was crying , a single tear staining his face. And then more , until it was all Harry could do not to collapse on to the ground and break down.

" Harry! It's okay , it's alright , Harry please. " Hermione begged him. He steadied himself and wiped the remainder of his tears away. " What's wrong Harry? Why?" The concern in her voice showed how much she cared for him , how much she loved him.

" I can't do this Hermione. All my life that women has been nothing but vile to me. And now , what she's telling me she loves me ? Giving me letters from my dead mother? It's not fair! She's playing mind tricks. 36 years! She's hated me. Now suddenly I'm supposed to believe that she , she loves me?"

" Yes." Hermione said simply " I know it's got to be hard for you Harry but you have to remember that Vernon was a intimidating man. She was petrified that he would leave her. You know that Harry."

" Yeah. Yeah I guess you're right , I'm sorry Hermione. Thank you. You're brilliant , truly. I love you" He smiled at her

" Anything for you" she said " you know that" and they grasped hands and apparated back to Godrics Hollow for what would hopefully be the last time that day.

...

Two hours after arriving back at the cottage , Ron , Hermione, Harry , Ginny and Lexi were in the car , Ron was driving , he was the only one that had passed the muggle driving test , surprisingly. Harry, Ginny and Lexi were in the back playing a game of exploding snap , and Hermione was sitting in the front with Ron. Hermione had always been the best at undectable extension charms , so before they left she made sure that there was enough room for 4 kids , 4 trunks , 3 owl cages and 1 cat ( belonging to Hugo ).

" Hun , what time are we due to pick Lily up tomorrow?" Harry asked Ginny

" I think it's about 12 ish , but to be honest it doesn't matter , mum and dad love having her there" she told him. Lily Luna had stayed at Molly and Arthur's the last few nights , just to give Ginny and Harry some time alone.

Finally , they had arrived at Kings Cross , 15 minutes late. They all got out the car and ran to get onto platform 9 and 3/4. Lexi was laughing as they ran , further ahead of all the adults.

" Lexi , turn left and stop!" Hermione called to her as they arrived at the barrier to platform 9 and 3/4.

" What I do now?" She asked , looking up at Ron.

" Well , why don't you watch Hermione and Ron do it , and then me and you can go through after?" Harry offered

" Okay!" she said , smiling so brightly it looked like she had slept with a coat hanger in her mouth.

Ron and Hermione grabbed hold of each other's hands , looked side to side , and quickly ran at the wall. Lexi's face dropped in a very large 'O' shape.

" That is awesome" she told him " Well come on then!" she shouted at Harry " Let's go!" they grabbed on to each other's hands, ran to the brick wall infront of them , and finally found themselves faced to face the brilliant , scarlet steam train , standing boldly before them.

" Finally! " Rose called from around the corner

" It's about bloody time" Hugo walked over to his parents.

" I just love it when you're on time(!)" Al said , as he walked over to hug his mum.

" Hello ! We're thank you , how are you (?) Oh we missed you too!" Ginny teased them

" Hey everyone" they all said at the same time. Lexi ran over to see Rose and the boys. Hermione followed her lead. Harry looked around. Where was James?

" Al , where's your brother?" he asked.

" I don't know , I saw him when I got off the train , but I actually , I havent seen him since , sorry" he replied.

" Rose? Hugo? You seen him?"

" Nope , sorry Harry"

Harry looked up and down the station , but he could only see 2 Hufflepuff girls, a few Slytherins and 1 Gryffindor Girl.

" James?! " Harry called. No response. " James?!" he tried again. No response. He was getting worried now. After 10 minutes and still no sign of him, Harry , Ron and Albus went to search the train , while Hermione , Rose and Hugo searched the rest of the station and Ginny stayed on the platform in case he showed up. After another 10 minutes, just as they were about to alert the Ministry , he heard a loud scream from the platform , it was Ginny. He ran back down the train , needing to know that she was safe.

" Ginny!" Harry called, as he jumped onto the platform out of the nearest exit " Ginny!"

" It's okay, it's alright , I'm fine , I'm fine" standing infront of her , a cheeky grin etched on his face, was Harry's eldest son.

" James Sirius Potter. Where the hell , have you been?" he demanded of his son.

" Calm down dad , it was just a little prank. I hid behind that pillar over there, waited as long as could , jumped out and scared mum , you should of seen the look on her face , priceless" he laughed , apparently not realising how furious his parents were.

" James! That is so NOT funny. We were worried sick , I was about to send a letter to the ministry! Half an hour we've been looking for you!" he shouted at his son " Besides , how did you hide, we would've seen you behind pillar , we searched the entire platform.

" Ah , now dad that was a bit of an overreaction wasn't it? And , this is the best part, before I left after Christmas , I found this , underneath a loose floorboard in the attic , along with some old snitch , a broken mirror and a spare bit of parchment." he held up the long silvery cloak in his hand. Harry couldn't help himself. A smile found its way onto his face.

" I must say James , I'm impressed , that was a well executed prank. But if you ever do it again , I shall be forced to send you to go hunting for Crumple Horned Snorkack's with your aunt Luna.

" Woa! Okay , I'm sorry dad , I swear it will never happen again"

" Apologise to your mother as well. And when we get back to the main station , apologize to Ron and Hermione for wasting their time. "

" Sorry , mum. I'll apologise to them as well , but I bet you Uncle Ron will be right impressed. Aunt H on the other hand .." Again , Harry laughed , as he thought that James' predications of his aunt and Uncle's reactions were spot on. Together , he , James , Ginny and Albus walked back on to platforms 9 and 10 where they found themselves faced to face with the rest of the Weasley's.

" Bloody Hell James!" Ron said , after he had explained what he had pulled off to the rest of the family. " That's genius!" he exclaimed " I mean ... umm hum . that was very ,very bad and you should never do it again" he said , after getting a look from Ginny , but he winked at him when she was looking. They all walked back out of the station , packed their things into the car , and drove back through London , preparing themselves for the next 8 weeks of mayhem.


	15. Midnight Snacks

On Friday night , at 1 o' Clock in the morning , while all the adults were asleep. Lexi , Rose and Lily snuck out of the room that they were sharing , across the hall , and into the bedroom that Hugo , James and Al were sharing. They crept into the room , carefully closing the door behind them, and all sat on the big double bed that Al was sharing with James. Lily and Lexi cuddled up together , and Rose went to sit with her brother. Lexi was the one to start the conversation

" I couldn't sleep!" she whispered excitedly " I'm just buzzing for tomorrow!" she exclaimed

" Me too , we always have such a laugh when we go , buying all our stuff for the new term , it's such an amazing place!"Rose told them.

" And of course Lexi and Lily , you'll be getting your wands tomorrow won't you? That's such a laugh , that is, I remember when I got my first wand , Ollivander couldn't believe he was getting a bit of each Potter generation , the look on his face was a picture!" James said

" Who's Ollivander ?" Lexi asked

" He's a wand maker , owns Ollivanders in Diagon Alley. People say he's the best there is , even after all these years. How old do you reckon he is Rose? 100? 110 ? Well anyway , he's pretty old , but he's still wicked" Albus replied.

" 100?!" Lexi gasped " He can't be 100?! Surely he should be in bed , being , well old! Why isn't he dying , or even sick?" Everyone looked at her like she had gone mental , all , but Rose.

" Oh of course , no one here listens in their muggle studies lessons , well, the reason Lexi thinks that is so old , is because the muggle life expectancy is a lot shorter than the wizard life expectancy, most muggles are lucky to make it to 85 , yet alone 100." she told them

" Why?" Lily asked her

" Well , isn't it obvious? Muggles don't have the same resources we do , they have to rely purely on science and medicine to fix them if they're ill. I heard once that it takes at least six weeks for a bone to heal , and for us , all you need is a bit of potion and you'll be perfect within the hour!"

" Merlin , that would suck , if I had to wait six weeks every time I broke a bone , I'd live in the hospital! It's lucky Aunt H is so good at healing potions." James said

" We know" they all said together

" Careful! You're gonna wake them up , mum and dad are only next door!" James whispered

" Yeah , In my bedroom , yuck" Lily replied

" Oh grow up will you" he said to her

" James , play nice." Rose warned her cousin.

" Anyway.." Hugo said " Lexi , do you have your letter from Hogwarts with you?" he asked her

" Indeed I do , It's in my bag next door" she replied

" I have a question for you two" James addressed Lily and Lexi " What house do you think you'll be in?"

" Obviously I want to be in Gryffindor , but I think I'm more suited to Ravenclaw" Rose told them

Lexi went next . " Well to be honest I hope I'm in Ravenclaw , to prove to my cousins , my actual cousins , that i'm not as thick as they think I am" she told them with a smile

" What do you mean , you're cousins?" Hugo asked her

" Well , as soon as we get to Hogwarts I'm going to tell everyone in my family , dad said I had to wait until I got there but during in the holidays I'll show them everything I've learned at school , obviously!" she exclaimed

" But Lexi , you can't be serious?" Rose inquired

" Well why wouldn't I be?"

" You not allowed to tell muggles about the wizarding world , not unless they are immediate family. It's wizarding law"

" what" she said " is the point of being a witch if I can't brag about to all my friends and family!" but smiled at the end. The bed shook with laughter at this point

" Anyway" she continued " let's keep talking about houses! What house are you in Rose , and Hugo" she pondered

" Slytherin" James said, smirking to himself.

" Am not!" Hugo yelled " We're both in Ravenclaw"

" Oh. Well , let's hope I get Ravenclaw then!" she cheered " Why did you get so angry when he said you were Slytherin?"

" Never mind" Rose said, before any of the boys could explain " They're just being stupid , Slytherin is just as good as any other house" she assured her

" Oh , all right then "

" Hey , James , did you bring the chocolate frogs?" Hugo asked him

" Of course I did , this is James Sirius Potter you're talking to Hugo. Let me just find them" he rummaged under the bed for about a minute , and when he came up, his arms were filled with chocolate frogs.

" Wow!" Lexi exclaimed " what are those" James chucked one at her , and everyone else in turn.

" Open your first" he told Lexi, and she did

" AHHH!" she screamed , as the chocolate frog jumped on her face , nearly covering her nose and mouth

" SSHH!" The rest of them whispered , but it was too late , they had already heard the creaking of the floorboards coming from next door.

" Hide ! Hide!" Albus told the girls, but there was no point. The almighty shadow of the one and only Ronald Weasley had seeped in through the door.

" Hey! " he bellowed " What is all this noise!"

" It was me" Lexi admitted " James gave a chocolate frog and I opened, it was just a surprise that the frog would leap out the box , I didn't know , I'm sorry" she said , looking utterly petrified

" You should be disappointed in yourself!" he yelled " It is completely inappropriate behaviou-" but then he burst out laughing " I'm sorry but I couldn't make it through that" he was spluttering out through his whispered laughter . Everyone seemed to be laughing too , everyone except Lexi.

" Dad , that was awesome, you really had me going for a second!" Hugo whispered excitedly

" I've still got it" he teased " Lexi you should've seen your face , it was a picture"

" RON!" she fumed back at him " That was so not funny , you really scared me!"

" My dear sweet Lexi , that was the point. Now if you don't , I'm going to come and sit with you guys and catch up on the latest goss"

" Oh dad , don't ever say that again , please. Just , don't" Rose told him

" Yes m'am" he replied, as he sat down in between James and Al. " So Lexi , who did you get?"

" Who did I get?" she asked him , looking bewildered

" On you card of course!"

" Oh" she pulled out the card , and he mouth dropped , as she read the word that were printed on the card , and saw that oh-so familiar face.

" Well?" Albus pushed her " Who is it?"

" _Harry James Potter" _she began to read" _The only known survivor of the Killing Curse, Harry James Potter is known for bringing the defeat of Lord Voldemort( Or He-who-must-not-be-named, you-know-who, the Dark Lord or the Heir of Slytherin . Marked for death since he was an infant , year after year Potter defeated Voldemort, only marginally escaping death. Until May 2nd 1998 ,at the Infamous Battle of Hogwarts where he destroyed the man who claimed he was immortal. Now living in Godrics Hollow, his birthplace , with wife Ginny Potter ( nee Weasley) and his three children, James Sirius Potter , Albus Severus Potter and Lily Luna Potter, he leads a happy life as the Head of the Auror Office, and now and again , enjoying the occasional game of Quidditch. _

_" _Well , this isn't awkward" James said after Lexi finished reading

" Shut up James" Rose told him

" Listen Lexi , you musn't let this" Ron began

" You know what guys , I don't want to hear it! You let me think that I was joining a real cool world , where everything was great and wonderful and , well , magical! But no , you didn't bother telling me the whole truth did you? Did that escape you memory , forget about that tiny detail? Did we now?" She was practically screaming.

" They didn't tell you , because we told them not too." Standing in the door was Harry , Ginny and Hermione , and it was the first who spoke.

" All right then, fine. But now we're all here and together, I want the whole story, everything. What happened , how , when and why. It's only fair. "

" too actually" Dudley had appeared " Tell us everything, from the very beginning."


	16. The Whole Story

**Hello everyone ! Hope you are all enjoying my story. Just a question for you. I can't decide whether to end the story with Lexi arriving at Hogwarts, and do a sequel about her years there , or just to go on and write about her years as part of this story. What do you think? Thanks! Again , if you like , review. Love you all. Sorry for the short chapter! **

The whole room had gone silent , even James had his mouth shut for once. Ginny broke the silence.

" Girls , go back to your bed , Lexi , Dudley go into the living and me Harry Ron and Hermione will be down soon. James , Al , get under the cover and sleep , Hugo love back on the air bed. " Everybody moved back to where they were told to go. Nobody in their right mind would try to argue with Ginny at this time of night.

" Ginny , whatever you're planning , this is not the time for this conversation" Ron warned her

" We're all up , and it's pretty obvious they want answers , and to be fair to them I would too if I was them . Harry?"

" Err , sure , let's go do it now." And so they went downstairs , all very apprehensive about what was going to happen next.

They entered the room. Dudley and Lexi were sitting together on the couch.

" Hello" Hermione said

" Hey. Listen , we aren't mad at you , not at all. We just want to know the truth" Dudley told them

" Yeah , seriously , I'm sorry I blew up back there , I was just a bit annoyed that you guys didn't tell me everything" Lexi added.

" Well that's completely understandable. So , enough of apologises. Let's get story telling" Harry said. They all took their places around the living room. Harry assumed the responsibility of telling them about Voldemort. And so he began on the night of the 31st of October, the night that Lily and James Potter were murdered. The reason. The prophecy. Steadily moving on to the diary , and Tom Riddle, the Heir of Slytherin. Everyone , even the adult wizards and witches , were hooked on his every word as he began to explain Sirius. The night Voldemort returned, the graveyard , the Death Eaters and the connection between their wands. The Order of the Phoenix. The lies that the Ministry told. Umbridge ( later referred to as ' Umbitch') The connection between himself and Voldemort. The battle of the Department of Mysteries. Bellatrix Lestrange. The murder of Sirius Black. Swiftly moving on to his relationship with Severus Snape, and Draco Malfoy. The textbook. The Half-Blood Prince. Private Lessons with Albus Dumbledore, explaining the history of Voldemort. Horcruxes. The Lake. The locket. R.A.B .The Murder of Albus Dumbledore. Telling them about the camping, Grimmauld Place. The Hunt for the Horcruxes. The Ministry of Magic. Malfoy Manor. breaking into the Lestrange's Vault. Escaping on dragon. The Deathly Hallows . Finally , The Battle Hogwarts. The fight between Good and Evil. The murder of Severus Snape. His final tale. The sacrifice, the love for Lily. The eighth Horcrux. The murder of Fred Weasley. The murder of Remus and Nymphadora Lupin. The forest and the resurrection stone. The Elder Wand. The final Battle. Expelliarmus vs. Avada Kedavra. The killing of Tom Riddle.

" And that was that." Harry concluded , after 45 minutes of talking.

" Harry" Dudley said , utterly amazed " Wow" he got up , and hugged his cousin. " Thank you, you have no idea what that meant to me."

" I know it meant a lot to you."

" And Ron , you're brother , I'm so , so sorry" Ron merely shook his head , and gave a feeble smile to Dudley.A lone tear streaked down his face . " Thank you Ron , Hermione. Harry. It's been an amazing story, and I'm glad you told us. But I need to sleep , it's 4:30 am. I'll see you in the morning. Come on Lexi"

" Night guys." They all said. But just before she left the room Lexi turned to the four remaining adults and said to them

" Voldemort was the Heir of Slytherin. His followers , all Slytherins. It all makes sense now. That's why they hate it so much, that house. It was _their_ house."

" Yes" Hermione replied " But you mustn't let it bother you , the reputation is almost non-existent, now"

" Oh , I'm not letting it bother me. After all , not all Slytherins are bad. Not all Slytherins can't love. Look at Snape. He sounds like the greatest man, and I for one , would be proud to be a part of his house." and with that , she ran off, back to bed.

" Finally" Harry muttered. " Come on , we've got a busy day tomorrow, and I need my beauty sleep" he joked , so they all went back upstairs , and slept a peaceful night's sleep.


	17. The Wand Chooses The Wizard

" Rose move over!" Hugo yelled at his sister as they were in the car driving to London, budging her so that her face was almost pressed up against the window.

" Why don't you move" she replied , shoving him into James who was sat beside him

" Oi! Both of you just shut up, will you" he shouted " you're acting like a bunch of bloody first years!"

" Hey!" the girls whined from the very back of the people carrier.

" Okay! Everyone , that is enough , the next person to complain about anything will swap with Albus" Hermione told them, and with that they shut up. The reason? Driving behind the big seven seater car , in which was Hermione , Ginny , James , Lily , Lexi , Rose and Hugo, was a smaller car for 5 people , Ron , Harry , Dudley and Albus were in this one. And nobody , not even Hermione , could stand to be in a car with Ron for longer than an hour , and considering the trip to Diagon Alley was 2 and half , they had had to draw straws to decide who went. You see Ron was whiner, he would complain that he was hungry, tired or needed the toilet the entire way there , almost like a 5 year old , except worse.

" Hermione?" Lexi called from the back of the car. " are we nearly there?"

" Yes. We. Are" she said , leaving a pause between each word as she pulled around the corner in front of The Leaky Cauldron. They all got out the car and met up with the others at the other side. They walked through the grubby old pub , with a smile and a wave to Tom the Landlord , into the back , and arrived at the brick wall. Lexi looked around , it seemed like a perfectly mundane place , a courtyard with bins and a few dead plants.

" What is this place?" Lexi asked.

"This" Harry replied as he started to get his wand out from his cloak " Is the entrance to Diagon Alley" . He began to tap the wall in very specific places , each time he did so they would move around , until finally , the archway to Diagon Alley was revealed to Lexi at last. The families walked through the gateway into the magical place. Dudley and Lexi both staring up , left , right and down so to take in every ounce of every shop. The twinkling of various different objects coming through shop windows , the curved cobbled street leading its way towards the grand building of Gringotts Bank at the end of the path. The hustle and bustle of people passing through doing their shopping , smells of all sorts of things from pumpkin to pepper wafting out from various different shops and cafes, hooting of owls coming from the shop at the end of the high street.

" So" Ginny began " Where first?" she asked Lexi.

" Ollivanders Wand Shop" she said confidently , pointing over to the shop in question.

" Excellent , well how about me , Dudley , Lexi , and Lily go and get their wands , and the rest of you can go and get the boring bits" Ginny asked.

" All right then , we'll meet you at Eeylops in 30 minutes?" Harry replied.

" Sure" Ginny answered. Giving him a quick kiss on the lips.

" Oh and Dudley , I took the liberty of taking out some money for you , you'll need to pay for all her stuff , my treat. There's around 30 galleons in there and that should do her for the first two terms." he told him as he passed over a bag of galleons , sickles and knuts.

" Wow , gee thanks Harry." he replied as he took the bag from his cousin.

" No problem. Right , come on you lot lets go to Madam Malkins!" And they left into the opposite direction.

" Well come on then!" Lily yelled " I want to get my wand!"

" Right , indeed , let's go , it's just through here" They walked for a few yards , and turned to their left , where they saw the old , crumbling building of Ollivanders.

" In you go dear" Ginny said , nudging her daughter into the shop.

" Wow" was all Lexi said. She was utterly speechless at the magnitude of wands towering all over the room , shelves upon shelves of ornate wooden boxes lying patiently to be opened, to be able to find their owner at last .

" Ah. Good Morning Mrs and Miss Potter." crocked an old man sitting in the corner " But you two? I do not know."

" Hello sir , I'm Lexi , Lexi Dursley. And well I need a wand" she said excitedly.

" Hello there sir , I'm Dudley her father." and he shook hands with the fragile man.

" Well , you must be a muggle-born." he said simply.

" Yes, how did you know?" Lexi asked

" I remember every wand I've ever sold , ever. And never , not once , have I come across a Dursley ,sweet girl. Right!" he got up from his chair very suddenly , surprisingly quickly for a man who looked so very ill "enough chit-chat. Who's first? YOU!" he yelled " Yes , I have a good sense about you. You're a Potter. Come along." Lily stood up slowly , visibly anxious. "Yes , I could tell you every wand I ever sold in your family , I won't of course , but I could." He walked , well leaped may be a better word for it , across to a dark alley at the back of the store , he came back out with three very long , battered boxes. He laid them down on the table. And nodded for her to begin.

" Well , go on then sweetheart" Ginny encouraged her daughter. She took the lid off the first one and held it very delicately in her hand. Unicorn Hair and Willow, 11 1/4 inches. A moment after she grasped the wand , a red , golden light protruded from the tip and began to shimmer in the room. Lily was overcome with a sense of belonging.

" That was quick. Very quick , but I suppose when It's meant to be , It's meant to be. One down , one to go." Lexi jumped across to the counter and was about to pick up one of the wands when Ollivander shouted.

" No! They are not a part of your selection. I must find you ones suited to you , not the Potter girl." he told her.

" Sorry!" Lexi apologised as she quickly moved her hand away from the desk as the wand maker went back through to the end of the shop. He came out with at least 6 wands , all in colourful bright boxes. All except one , a box of deepest blue. Lexi was instantly drawn to it. But the old man handed her a box of brightest yellow.

" Unicorn Hair and Rosewood, 10 1/5 inches" and he handed her the wand. She held it in her hand. She felt nothing , and nothing happened. She looked up the wrinkled face in front of her and he was shaking his head.

" No matter , no matter. Here , try this one" This time it was a royal purple colour.

" Dragon Heart String and Walnut, 9 1/3 inches " But the same thing happened.

" We'll get there" he gave her a box of a blue bluer than the sky.

" Dragon Heart String and Sycamore 10 1/2 " Nothing.

" Unicorn Hair and Olive 9 inches exactly " No sparks. He reached the fifth box. It was the one that Lexi had had her eye on earlier.

" Hawthorn and Phoenix Feather. 12 3/4 inches" She held it her hand, and as soon as it landed in the palm, she felt a feeling of destiny. Like she had been a jigsaw and the final piece and now been placed. As she held it the same shimmering lights erupted from her wand.

" Well my dear. I looks as though our journey will be short-lived. This is your wand." A huge smiled spread across Lexi's face and she ran over to hug the old man.

" Thank you."

" Oh , my dear girl you are very welcome. Now come along." he said , subtly pushing her off him.

" Well done sweetheart" Dudley said " come and give me a hug" She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

" I love you darling."

" I love you too dad." She replied , not knowing why her dad was becoming so emotional all of a sudden , or why a tear slowly fell down his face.


	18. Owl Always Love You

" Oh , I like this one!" Lily called from the corner of the dark , rather smelly shop.

" Well I should think you would like it at 16 galleons. 16! For a wretched owl!" Ginny complained.

" But mum , it's beautiful. Look at her wings, she's like an angel. Besides , you let James and Al have one!" Lily argued.

" Come on Gin , let her have this one, look how beautiful she is." Harry said to his wife. He was staring up at the Snowy Owl -as white as white can be , looking upon the big crowd below her with her big , golden eyes- trying not to let it show that he was thinking about his long dead owl , and how looked so very similar to the one his daughter was currently picking out.

" Oh , go on then" she replied , seeing the look of sadness in her husband's eyes" go quick before I change my mind" and she handed her the correct amount of galleons.

" Dad?" Lexi called from further down the shop " Well , please may I have one?"

" Well , they are rather a lot of money sweetheart and well I don't really have enough at the moment , but maybe next year, eh?" Dudley replied awkwardly , squeezing his daughter's shoulders.

" Mate , why don't you let us get her this , as a birthday present , we never did get you one did we Lexi?" Ron pointed out.

" Oh , no Ron don't worry yourself , I couldn't ask you for that.." he muttered back, turning a deep shade of red.

" Honestly , let us do this , besides she's going to need something to be able to send all her letters isn't she?"

" Well , thanks Ron , that is very , very kind of you" he said , turning even more red.

" Oh thank you Uncle Ron! and Aunt H! Thank you!" Lexi exclaimed , running over to them both and giving them a huge hug.

" No problem sweetheart , now go pick one quickly , and take the money with you!" Hermione told her , handing her 15 galleons. Lexi looked at the money with massive eyes , and quickly mouthed 'thank you' before sprinting off back down the shop.

" Seriously guys , thank you. Things have just been a bit tight recently, so yeah , thanks" he said , turning a deeper red by the minute.

" Dudley stop thanking us , go and help her choose one , we'll leave you two alone for a bit." Hermione told him. So he walked down to the end of the shop to find his daughter. He found her at the very end , mesmerised by a large Tawny Owl , streaked with hazel and white markings all over his body, and he had big back eyes that pierced Dudley as he walked over to Lexi.

" He's gorgeous isn't he?" Lexi chimed.

" Yeah , he is. How much is he?" he asked , worried for the answer.

" 17 galleons and three sickles" She replied , sadness in her eyes. She walked over to another , her way of ending the conversation.

" Sweetheart" he whispered " I'm not so poor that I can't give you the extra money. Here" he said , handing her 5 galleons." And keep the change" he winked at her " but don't tell your brothers, I don't know how much that's worth in our- my money" warned her., trying to cover up the mistake he just made calling it ' our money' when it wasn't hers , not anymore.

" Our money." Lexi corrected him " Dad you have to understand that just because I'm a witch now, it doesn't mean I'm going to forget the part of my life I had before Hogwarts. I'm still going to be the same girl I was, I'll still be me . You won't even see me do magic until I'm seventeen , because I'm not allowed , nothing will change for you except I'll only be home on holidays , and maybe sometimes at the weekends?" she said , turning the last bit in to a question.

" I get that hun but it is going to change. It already has, but I'm glad it is , change is good, and I'm proud to have you as my daughter." he comforted her. " and you can come home whenever you want , you know that"

" I don't need comforting dad , you do. That's not me being harsh , it's just me being truthful. I've seen you today , when I've been with Harry Aunt H , or Uncle Ron , or Aunt about Hogwarts or magic , I see that you're getting jealous of them , and I don't want that to happen. Because I love you. You're my dad , nothing that happens will ever change that." she smiled at him.

" I know sweetheart." he replied , smiling back " And I love you too. Forever. I'm sorry I've been such an awful dad lately. But it's hard isn't it?"

" Don't worry about it , you'll soon get the hang of the magical world , I have. Plus , you've been a right side better parent then mum has , I haven't been out with her , or even had a phone call or text since we got to Harry's last Monday. Do you know why?" she asked her father.

" Go and pay for your owl love" Dudley replied , ignoring her question and pushing her back down the shop and to the checkout , where a very smiley witch talked her through everything she would have to do for him. Dudley went back to where the rest of the family were.

" Harry?" Dudley said " Can I talk to you for a minute , outside ?" he asked.

" Err , sure Dudley" they walked out into the sun and went over to a small , empty alley behind the Eeylops.

" What's up D?" Harry pondered.

" Listen , I know you are probably wondering what on earth is happening between me and Liz at the moment. We're going through some .. issues. She seems to think that Lexi needn't go to Hogwarts and she should just stay in the muggle world. She thinks wizards and witches are just crack pots to be honest, which , ironically , was my father's take on the matter as well. She gave me an ultimatum. and the gist of was ' Don't let Lexi go , drop all ties with , well , you guys , and we can stay together as a happy family , let Lexi go , stay in touch with the Potters , and that's it for us.' So yeah , it's been a bit tricky lately, I've had a lot to think over ." he concluded.

" But that's ridiculous, it's impossible for Lexi not to be witch , if she doesn't go then she'll go insane , literally go insane." he told his cousin.

"I'm sure she does know that , I think she's just having a lot of trouble adjusting to the whole situation. I'm going over this evening to talk to her, persuade her to , change her mind as it were."

" Oh Dudley I'm so sorry , really I am. But , wasn't her grandmother Mrs. Figg? The Squib?"

" Yes , I don't understand where her worry comes from either. But , I'll figure something out."

" If you want , I could come with you tonight , if it would help?" Harry asked , but then realised this probably would make matters worse

" No, no don't worry , I'll handle it." he rejected him " but thank you anyway. If you wouldn't mind just watching Lexi though, and not let her know what is going on I would be very grateful, Harry, I don't want any of them knowing , not just yet" he asked the man in front of him.

" Of course" Harry replied.

" Dad?! Harry!?" They heard Rose calling.

" They you are! Everyone's been looking for you. Mum and Ginny want to go to and have lunch at Merlin's Kitchen" She informed. " Honestly" she muttered to herself. And with that , they walked back into Eeylops, Harry mulling over what Dudley had just told him.


	19. First fly

**Well hello my dear reader chums , I sincerely hope you are enjoying my story , as it will soon be drawing to a close :( But , I am going to do some 'sequels' if you will about each of their years at Hogwarts. Just to clarify: Yes , I know that the ages of the children don't correspond with the Epilouge , but I had to do that to make the story work better. Please Review if you like this , I haven't had many for a while :( Love you. Enjoy* mwah* **

Lexi was lying on hers and Lily's bed ( well Albus' bed) staring up at the ceiling , unable to sleep , no matter how hard she tried. She rolled over , hoping to find that Lily was wide awake and ready for a chat, but no , it seemed that it was just her. Usually she would go and talk to her dad , he wouldn't mind , but he wasn't here , he'd gone out for the night. The clock on the bedside table next to her said that it was almost 3:30 in the morning, so , deciding to give up on the idea of sleep, she slowly jumped out of bed , shoved her slippers on her feet and trod carefully across the bedroom , trying to avoid Rose, who was sound asleep on an air bed. However , despite her best efforts she still managed to fall over , and land slap bang in the middle of the bed.

" Lexi!" Rose whispered , angrily.

" Sorry! I'm so so sorry , I couldn't sleep so I was going to go down and get a drink and something to eat. I'm sorry I didn't mean to wake you up!" she whispered back.

" Lexi , It' fine stop apologizing. Next time tread more carefully though" she smiled at her. Lexi breathed a sigh of relief. For some reason Rose was a lot more intimidating than James , even though they were both 3rd years , going into 4th. Lexi assumed it was because Rose was beautifully stunning , but ridiculously clever at the same time. She was very tall , freckly and had gorgeous , thick lava red hair that was down to her waist, and often tied back into a French plait which her cousin Victorie had taught her to do.

" Well , goodnight" Lexi said to her " don't mention anything to the adults in the morning." As she began to leave the room , Rose stood up off the bed, and grabbed her wrist.

" You aren't going anywhere" Lexi gulped " without me" causing her to breathe a sigh of relief.

" Why do you want to come with me? You hate getting in trouble"

" Please , I'm not exactly like my mother , dad made an impression on me too" she winked , and so the two girls wandered out the door , and down through the house , across the kitchen , and into the garden.

" Where are we going?" Lexi asked Rose." I thought we could just play exploding snap?"

" Oh , I can think of something a lot more fun to do" Rose teased her. " I'm going to teach you how to ride a broom"

" What?! I can't do that , not now , not here , it's almost 4 o clock! What if the adults wake up? " she argued.

" Not scared are we Lexi?" Rose jabbed. Lexi was very annoyed at this point , and wanting to prove herself to Rose , hastily said

" No , of course not. Let's do this."

" Great, let's go." Rose led Lexi across the shabby garden, passing many different types of flowers and shrubbery, it very much resembled the Burrow's Garden, one of Lexi's favourite places. It was a beautiful sky , a deep cocktail of various shades of blues and indigos, but with occasional interruptions of a twinkling diamonds. The two girls arrived at a large shed , tucked away in the corner behind some overgrown bushes , Rose took a bobby pin out of her hair, inserted it into the lock , and twisted it for a while until the door clicked open.

" Uncle George taught me , a very handy trick" she joked. They both entered the large wooden shack. It was filled completely with broomsticks. Some very sleek and thin , others looking worn and tired. Along the shelves were trunks full of odd looking balls that didn't resemble anything Lexi had ever seen in the muggle world. There were moving posters all over the walls of Ginny and six other women flying through the air on a broomsticks , the one which Ginny was riding , Lexi could see was in a glass case hanging on the wall.

" Wow" Lexi gasped.

" Yeah , I know. Mum built this place when she was around twenty, she had just got accepted for the Holyhead Harpies, and thought she needed a place to keep some brooms and balls" she told Lexi.

" What are the Holyhead Harpies?"

" Oh , well they are a pretty famous Quidditch team , all female. You know what Quidditch is right?"

" Of course I do" Lexi lied , not wanting to sound stupid in front of Rose , and remembering to ask Lily about it before they went to Hogwarts.

" Anyway , enough chit-chat , let's get you a broom. Here" she said as she handed her a thin , long broom with a few dislodged bristles " that should fit you , it was Harry's when he was at Hogwarts, it was top of range , his godfather got it for him I think" Lexi inspected it closed , on the side at the end of the broom 'Firebolt' was written in small golden letters. "We do have some better ones ,mum has a light-speed 500 on the shelf , but you've never ridden before so we'll start off with a slower one for the time being, I'm going to use this nasty old thing" she said pulling from the depths of the shed , a dusty battered broomstick with hardly any of the bristles in place" it's a cleansweep 7 , this was my dad's, they didn't have a lot of money when he was growing up. " she explained , looking at the look on Lexi's face. " well come on then!" . And they jogged back out to the main section of the garden.

" Right. It's really , really easy. Straddle your broom" she did so " lean forwards , and just let yourself fly away" and so she did. Lexi felt herself rising from the ground , feeling exhilarated. She went higher and higher until she was around 20 feet in the air.

" This is Amazing!" She yelled down, a massive grin on her face.

"Isn't it? But Don't go any higher Lex , we don't want the muggles to see you" Rose called up to her "I'll come and join you" and with a flick of her foot she was off the ground, spinning and diving all over the place , while Lexi was just moving around a little bit , frightened of falling off.

" Come on Lexi! Try diving , it's really easy , just lean so you're almost the same length as the broom , and point down"

" Are you sure I'll be okay?" she asked.

" Yes , you're a natural flyer , I can see already you have perfect balance , just try Lex!" and she did. She soared through the night , never remembering a time when she felt as free as she felt while diving, she loved it.

" Lexi ! I think we need to go back inside , it's 6 in the morning , and Harry and Dad leave for work at 7!" she yelled to the other side of the garden. The sun was just bubbling on the horizon , the girls had been out for 2 hours , riding around on the brooms. Lexi was clearly a natural flyer , Rose had believed that she will definetly make the house team. They flew down , and made their way over to the broom shed.

" How are you so good?" Lexi asked Rose.

" Well, I'm on Ravenclaw Quidditch team , I'm the Chaser , like mum was. I've been flying since I was 5, when Grandad bought me my first broom , apparently I wouldn't get off it for days!" Lexi chuckled.

" You know , I'm glad we did this" Rose said " I've always felt a little like me and you never really got on , but now , I hope that we can spend more time together? You're a really lovely person Lexi , I can't wait until you come to Hogwarts." At this moment they were walking back up the stairs to their bedroom, Lily was still fast asleep, as was everybody else.

" Me too , I'm had fun , loads , thank you." They gave each other an awkward smile and quick hug , and then jumped back into bed.

" Goodnight Lex."

" Goodnight Rose."


	20. The Last Day

**Good evening ( or morning). So , this is the penultimate chapter :( I know , it's so sad ;) I hope you've enjoyed my story , I know I've loved writing it. I'd like to take this moment to apologize dearly for the appalling last chapter ( First Fly) and point out that I do know Hermione is Rose's mum , not Ginny , that was an awful error. I hope you can forgive me? **

**Anyway , as always , Please review, it would mean a lot to hear what you guys think. I'd like to make it to at least 50 review before I put up the final chapter. **

**Thank you for everything **

**xx3 **

The sun shone through the windows of 64 Wenlock Way , Godrics Hollow. It was the last day of the summer and the Potters , Weasley and Dursley children could not be happier.

" We're going back to Hogwarts tomorrow!" James yelled with excitement as his alarm clock went off at 9 30 in the morning.

" We're going back to school!" Albus joined him as he was changing into his muggle clothes.

" It's about time you boys got up! The girls and Hugo have been playing two-a-side Quidditch since eight o'clock this morning, and it isn't working very well " Hermione told them as she stuck her head round their door to see what all the noise was.

" Aunt H! We're going back to Hogwarts tomorrow ! " James roared , his voice travelling through the house, and he ran over to hug her.

" Oh , really? I had no idea" Hermione teased him. " now go outside , it's a beautiful day and they all want you to join them out back." James chucked on his t-shirt and a pair of shorts and he and Albus quickly ran down the stairs to join the others in the garden, leaving Hermione chuckling to herself as she walked downstairs to join the adults in the kitchen.

" Morning love" Ron greeted her with a kiss.

" Good morning everybody." she smiled "do I smell bacon?" she asked Harry.

" Wow" Ginny laughed " I guess it's true what they say , couples really do sound alike"

" Oi!" Hermione snapped , sounding offended.

" there it is again" Ginny was snorting with laughter at this point, earning her a glare from Hermione.

" There's some food on the stove, help yourself" Harry told her, changing the subject.

" So" Hermione began, as he piled her plate with fatty bacon, mushrooms and eggs and sat down to eat " Are you nervous about tomorrow, Harry?"

" Why would I be?" he questioned her.

" Dudley" was all she said.

" Aw , of course I forgot about that. I guess it's going to be a little awkward , but I've faced a lot worse."

" Sorry , what's going on?" Ron asked Harry.

" Dudley and Elizabeth are coming to see Lexi off tomorrow, I haven't heard from Dudley since the day we went to Diagon Alley , and I have no idea how the conversation went yet." he explained.

" Oh Merlin , that's going to be tough" he replied.

" What's going to be tough?" They turned around at Hugo and Rose were both standing in the door way , Hugo covered in mud.

" Never you mind, Hugo go and shower sweetheart, you're filthy" Hermione said , licking her thumb and rubbing a smear of mud off his cheek, to which Hugo grimaced. " Honestly , how did you get so messy! It's 30 degrees outside!"

" Me and Al were just messing around , leave it will you mum! Merlin!" and with that he ran off to shower. Rose laughed at her brother's anger and helped herself to some bacon.

" Rose , where are the rest of them?" Harry asked his goddaughter.

" Lily and Lexi are in the garden sunbathing , and James and Al went off with Alfie Finnigan , you know the one who lives on Little Minister Street? "

" What , Seamus' boy?" Ron asked.

" Yeah , you know him?"

" Yep , we all went to school with him, not Alfie , obviously , Seamus. Me and Harry shared our dormitory with him when we were at Hogwarts" he informed her.

" Aren't they supposed to live in Ireland? Have they moved?" Ron asked.

" Yeah , they moved in April , his dad said he wanted to be closer to his parents , his dad is very sick" she told him. Well , anyway , I'm going to go an read. I need to finish my book before we go back" and so she ran off back into her bedroom.

At that moment , a large Tawny owl , going by the name of Oreo ( after the muggle biscuit , of course) bought a letter straight through the kitchen and it landed on the table.

" That's Lexi's owl, isn't it?" Ginny asked.

" Yes, I'll call her , he has a pretty thick letter with him" Harry replied. He got out of his chair and called Lexi from the garden, as soon as she heard , she got up off her sun bed , and sprinted into the house , Lily following behind both with a humungous smiles on their face.

"Thank you Oreo , thank you so much!" And she gave him a big piece of bacon out of the bowl. And before anyone could ask what was going on , her and Lily had run off to their bedroom , squealing and chanting ' he replied!'. As soon as they were out of ear shot of anyone , but locking the bedroom door just to be on the safe side , Lexi ripped open the letter.

" Well go one then!" Lily encouraged her " Open it! Open it! What did he say, read it out!"

" Okay !

_Hi Lexi! _

_I was very happy to read your letter, I made me smile when I saw it was from you. I think that you are a lovely person , and I hope that we will be spending lots of time together when you come to Hogwarts tomorrow, don't worry about it , I know you're nervous , but I'm going into my second year now and I love it, I'll look after you though, you better be in Hufflepuff, then I'll see you all the time! . I am in France with my family at the moment , we arrived two days ago , we're visiting my grandparents for the summer , as we have stayed at the Burrow the past two years! It's beautiful here , and very , very hot! I wish you were with me though , it would be nice to be with a girl who wasn't a member of my family! I miss you Lex, the day we went into muggle London together over the summer was amazing , and when we went to the Quidditch match last weekend, with Victoire and Teddy, I had loads of fun with you. I hope you understand the game now , as Rose told me you are a natural on a broomstick and Hufflepuff could do with a new Chaser! I hope you are having a wonderful time in Godrics Hollows and that Uncle Ron and Aunt Ginny aren't being too embarrassing, Dad says that they will be though , so sorry about that! I'll see you tomorrow, and you can tell me all about it! _

_Lots of Love _

_Louis_

_xx_

_p.s I'm going to ditch my friends and sit with you and everyone else on the train tomorrow, I hope that's okay!" _

She finished reading , and the next thing she knew , Lily was jumping all over her.

" Oh my Merlin! This is too much to handle! I can't believe you and MY cousin are going out! This is unreal! I need to tell somebody!" she exclaimed.

" Lily! No! I, don't think he's my boyfriend , I mean I thought we were just good friends , I've never even had a - he wouldn't like me that way. Aren't I too young to- I'm just a first year. " She argued.

" Lexi , did you not read that letter! He said he loved you. You are so going out!" Lexi giggled , and turned a dark shade of red. But before she could reply, there was a bang at the door, it was James , Al , Rose , Hugo and a small boy with who Lexi didn't recognize, with curly brown hair , hazelnut eyes , long eyelashes and freckles.

" Come in!" Lily called.

" Guys , Alfie and his mum are going to show us how to play basketfall! Are you coming!" James asked them , very visibly excited.

" It's basketBALL, James" Alfie corrected him, in a very funny Irishy-English accent.

" Of course we are! Come on Lexi!" Lily said , tugging her out of the door and through the house , ignoring Lexi's constant reminders that she already knew how to play basketball.

" Bye everyone! " All the kids called as they passed the adults on the way.

" Where are you-" Ginny asked , but the door slammed before she could even finish.

...

" And then , Al threw the ball right at my face , and I fell over , landed the concrete and got a massive bump on head, so Siobhan , that's Alfie's mum, took me back to their house and gave me MUGGLE medicine because Seamus was with his dad, so he couldn't fix it!" James recounted the story over the dinner table.

" That's very fascinating Albus" Ginny said.

" When we left , Alfie said he was going to sit with us on the train, he doesn't know anybody going to Hogwarts , except his sister Jodie , and he's never really had wizard friends , unless you count Leo and Lucy Thomas. " James told them.

" Dean's twins?" Ron asked.

" Yep , they said that Dean and his er. husband talk about you a lot" Ginny spat out the pumpkin juice she was currently drinking.

" Husband?!" she exclaimed.

" Yeah , some guy called Clive , they met two years after Hogwarts , Dean was travelling and he ran into him , and the rest was history" Rose told the eager ears before her.

" Dean is gay?" Harry said , with a hint of amusement in his voice, which didn't go unnoticed by Ginny.

" Watch it you" she whispered to him. The rest of the meal they mainly talked about Hogwarts , it hadn't gone unnoticed that Lexi was feeling anxious about the next day , they had all tried to cheer her up. The adults told her stories of their times there , and the kids told her the adventures they had had there.

When they were lying in the double bed they shared , Lexi had admitted that she still felt worried about the day ahead . " It'll be great , we'll all help you, it's my first year too you know , we'll always be together.

Before she turned the lights out , after hours of talking , Lily whispered discreetly " And don't forget about Louis" , the thought made Lexi a lot more excited about the day ahead. And she and the rest of the family , slept peacefully that night , their dreams filled with visions of Hogwarts.


	21. Kings Cross

**And here it is! I really do hope you enjoy this chapter , I've had it written since the beginning so I'm very excited to be able to post it. Thank you for all the support you gave me , especially all you lovelies who have reviews ( Shout out to Miss-Mai, Fuckmerobp and 'guest ') I really appreciated the continued support throughout the entire time I've been writing. If it weren't for your review , I probably would've given up. Please review this chapter , just to let me know what you think of the ending , I personally quite like , but if you're going to give criticism , make sure it is constructive and not just hate! Ahahah. So anyway , I'm really quite sad this story is over , I will be writing a sequel in the future , but no straight away , I'm working on something else at the moment which I hope you will enjoy. Thank you so much once again. I really love you all. **

**Here we go. **

Lexi woke at 7:30 in the morning . It had arrived. The day she had been waiting for since July the 21st had finally come around. The 1st of September. Lexi rolled over to find Lily , her big brown eyes staring back at her, and one humungous smile stretched over her face, mirroring Lexi's.

" Let's go" Lily commanded.

" Yes m'am" Lexi replied.

They simultaneously jumped off the bed (Rose was already awake and in the shower), grabbed their trunks and heaved them onto the bed. Lexi folded all her robes , and tiled the bottom of her trunk with them, on top of that she layered her black pointed hat , a thick winter coat and a pair of dragon-hide gloves. Next , she placed in ink and parchment , potion ingredients, her cauldron, textbooks, some of her muggle books , a gold telescope for her astronomy lessons , and finally a set of crystal phials.

" There" she announced" I think that's everything"

" No , it isn't." Rose had suddenly come out of the bathroom ,wrapped in a towel. " You haven't anything from home"

" what do you mean?" she asked , perplexed.

" Well , when I went to Hogwarts , I was the first to go. I didn't have my brother , or any friends to begin with , so I packed a few home comforts, a couple of pictures , a blanket from my own bed, and when I got there , I just felt a little closer to mum and dad" she explained , but her throat caught at the last part.

"That's a good point , but I have you guys , I doubt I'll be short for company." she pointed out.

" There aren't that many of us" Lily interjected.

" Well let's see , there's You , Rose , Hugo , James , Al, Molly , Lucy , Louis , Fred, Roxanne, wait , there's also , Alfie and Jodie Finnigan and Leo and the other Lucy Thomas ."

" Touche" Lily conceded " But Rose is right , take something to remind you of home"

" I will , one photo , and my blanket. I don't need anything else , the rest of my family will be there with me" she blushed slightly and muttered " I love you guys"

" We love you too" the other two replied. Rose went redder than her hair , and quickly shot back into the bathroom saying she had to get ready. `

" Come on" Lily began " Let's go downstairs , I smell sausages."

...

It was 8:30, rain pouring down on the windows of 64 Wenlock Way.

" Are you all ready? "Ginny asked , as she poked her head around the girls room " We're leaving now"

" Alright mum , we'll come down with you. Can you get our trunks?" Lily asked her mother.

" Sure I can sweetheart " she waved her wand and all three were hovering in the air , in one neat pile " go outside , your father's waiting and all the boys are in already in the car" She told them. And so they did.

...

*2 hours to go*

" You excited Lex?" James questioned her in the car " only a couple of hours to go now"

" Yeah" she breathed , although for some reason , she wasn't excited. Not one bit. She felt sick to her stomach. And at that moment , the only person that she wanted to see was Grandpa V. But he wasn't there. Not anymore. A tear fell down her face.

" You okay Lex?" Hugo asked sounding concerned.

" Yeah , I'm perfect , just excited you know?" She lied. He nodded his head, and turned back to his conversation with Al.

* 1 hour to go*

Images of her Grandfather kept rushing through her mind. He would never see her go off to Hogwarts . The picture on his face as she imagined how proud of her he would be, seeing his little girl becoming a witch. She held back the tears , not wanting to raise concern.

*Half an Hour to go*

" We're nearly there everyone" Lily called out.

" _Hogwarts Hogwarts , Hoggy , Warty , Hogwarts , teach us something. Please!_" All of them began to sing , all but Lexi , she just smiled feebly while everyone enjoyed their time together. There time together as a family. The same face she had been thinking about the whole journey , flooded through her mind again.

*10:37*

" Right , come on everybody out , James , Hugo and Rose grab some trolleys. Lexi , your dad is over there , why don't you go and get him?" Harry instructed them all as they jumped out of the car.

" Dad!" Lexi called out "Dad!"

" Lexi!" he shouted back across the station. She jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist as if she was five years old again.

" Oh , I missed you sweetheart. Listen , your ... mother's here. She's just through the station , with your brothers. Shall we go and see her?" he asked her.

" Dad , I know about the whole situation. George gave Hugo his extendable ears, and Hugo leant them to me , and I wanted to know what you and Harry were talking about that day in Diagon Alley, so I listened in. I haven't told anyone though. I'm sorry. Please don't be angry. And to answer your question. No. I don't want to see her. But I do want to see my brothers, shall I meet you on platform 9 and 3/4 while you explain to 'mother' what's going on?"

"That was sneaky of you , I suppose you've been spending too much time with James. Listen , Lexi" but he stopped what he was about to from the look in her eye" Okay. I'll meet you in 10. And so they went off in opposite directions , Lexi finding one half of her family , an Dudley the other.

*10:43*

" Lexi , you ready?" Harry asked her as she clung onto his arm.

" Let's do this" All though inside , she just wanted to run as far away from Kings Cross as she could. The ran at the wall , and slid through , finding the rest of the family on the other side. One face she did not want to see , was greeting her.

" I told you , I didn't want to see her" she practically growled at her father.

" Well , I had to see you off , didn't I?" Elizabeth told her. " I want to apologize" she continued " To all of you , for how awfully I have treated you. Lexi , look at me" Her daughter eyes , slowly swivelled up towards her mother's gaze. " Can you forgive me? I have been an abysmal mother , and frankly, I don't deserve you as my daughter. I am so proud of you , and I know you are going to be wonderful. Please?" Tears were strolling down her face, but she ignored them and let them roll.

" Okay. I forgive you mum. But please , start acting like one , sooner rather than later." Liz gasped , but nodded her head vigorously , and stretched her arms for a hug, Lexi returned it.

" I love you" Liz said.

" Me too" Lexi replied. And she moved over to see her brothers.

" I'm going to miss you , you littler squirts. As much as you annoy the Merlin out of me , I really am going to miss you guys. Stay happy , and stay safe , and make sure mum and dad are happy too." she asked them.

" I love you Lexi, have fun at Pigfarts" Lucas told her.

" It's Hogwarts you numpty"

" Oh" he chuckled " my bad" and blushed red.

" Love you big sis" Seb chimed up to her.

" Love you more little bro , I'll always be around to help you, you know that yeah?"

" I know. Bye bye." And with that , they ran back through the barrier , causing Elizabeth to ran after them , shouting ' I love you darling , be safe!' on her way.

" I'm going to miss you the most" Lexi told her dad.

" I love you sweetheart"

" I know. Me too." she wrapped her arms around him once more. Said her final goodbye , and watched him , as he disappeared back through the barrier. Only then , did she finally let the tears out. She looked at her watch. It was 11 minutes until the train left. There was a near-by pillar , well hidden from the platform , she moved over to it , wanting some privacy , she wanted to cry over her Grandad in peace. But it didn't last for long.

" Hiding?" Harry appeared around the pillar. He saw her face , and the redness of her eyes , sat down and put his arm around her.

" You know , if you really miss them that much , I'm sure Slughorn wouldn't mind pulling some strings to let them come and stay for a while" he comforted her.

" No. No , it isn't that" she sniffed " It's granddad Vernon" Harry tensed, but didn't let his face show his disgust at the name.

" What about him?"

" He should be here!" she cried " he should be here , waving me off , telling granddad jokes , and telling me to write to him every day , he should be here to give me a hug and a kiss , he should be here to tell me to be safe , and that he's proud of me. But he isn't. Because he's dead." he voice broke at the last bit. It took Harry a lot of effort not to spill the entire story about her Grandfather, he didn't of course , he couldn't tarnish the memories.

" Let me tell you something. Hey , look at me" she gazed up at him , her green eyes sparkling with tears." Years and years ago a very wise man once told me that the ones who love us , never really leave us. And that we can always find them , in here." and he place his hand on her heart. She smiled at him. " I bet you anything that your Granddad is smiling down at you now , wishing he could be here with you."

" Yeah. You're right. Thank you Uncle Harry. I love you" It had just slipped out , she had never said it to him before, and she blushed.

" And I love you" he chuckled.

" Come on , let's go back , it's 10 minutes until the train leaves." Lexi said, and so they made their way back onto the main platform.

" Lexi!" She turned around , and there , standing in front of her was none other than Louis Weasley. " May I talk to you?" he asked , but then looked around as he saw Lily , Rose , Hugo , Al and James all staring at the pair " In private?" he blushed as Lily suppressed her giggles. Lexi nodded , and they ran over to the other side , where they couldn't be seen. He held her hand , and placed a kiss upon it.

" Will you" he began " Accompany me , to the Halloween ball on the 31st of October?" he asked.

Lexi squealed " I didn't even know there was one!" Louis' face fell. " But , of course I will!" And she wrapped her arms around him , they stood there for all of 2 minutes , until they saw the smoke emerging.

" Quick!" Louis gasped. And they ran , only just managing to make the train. Lexi only just managed to catch a glimpse of Harry , Ron , Ginny and Hermione before the train pulled away from the station, the smile on her face gleaming at thought of the adventures she was about to embark on.


End file.
